Eternity
by Chicapanzy
Summary: Kirk and Spock have chosen to spend their lives together as life mates. However, it seems fate is determined to keep them apart. Will their love conquer all? Or will life's many curve balls do them in? Sequel to Complexity.
1. Prologue

I'm not doing Author Notes or an Intro this time, so this little blurb is your first and _only _warning. If you haven't read Complexity, go read that first.  
**Eternity:** Rated M with the occasional NC-17 bits.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own J.J. Abrams characters or anything to do with Star Trek. I make no money. If you don't recognize a name, it's because it's an OC I created.  
**WARNING: **Contains Kirk/Spock slash, including lemony tidbits. Either bail out now or prepare to skim through those parts.  
That being said, on with the story!!!

**Prologue**

The sun beamed down on the small planetoid called New Vulcan. The last of the Vulcan race that resided there had recovered quickly with the help of Starfleet and had finally reached a point where they could thrive on their own. The forests around them provided them with vast amounts of suitable food for them while they cultivated their own crops, which now had a bountiful enough yield for them to feed themselves with. Though their lush environment was a drastic change from the dry and arid planet they used to call home, Spock Prime had done a remarkable job in picking a planet that would sustain them almost as well as Vulcan had.

A large ship momentarily blocked out the sun as it descended from the sky onto the planet's surface. It hovered over the clearing of land that had been designated specifically for it and carefully landed. The remainder of the Vulcan High Council waited patiently as the ship's door opened and its ramp extended outward. From the ship emerged Ambassador Sarek, who had just returned from a meeting with Starfleet on Earth.

He raised his right hand high and formed the traditional Vulcan salute, which the High Council returned. Carefully walking down the ramp, Sarek picked up his pace once he reached the High Council and continued on into the building before them. The High Council followed in pursuit of the now fast walking Sarek, struggling to keep up with him. Despite the fact that he was not a young Vulcan, Sarek always walked with a purpose and did not care to slow his steps to allow others to keep pace with him. This was one of the traits the High Council disliked the most about Sarek and shed even more light on the headstrong personality of his son.

In the back of the great hall Sarek entered sat T'Pau in a high sitting throne. Sarek stopped feet away from her, the rest of the High Council finally catching up with him, slightly out of breath. In a bold voice, Sarek spoke to T'Pau, "I have left my meeting with Starfleet early and returned here as you requested. What was it that was so urgent it could not wait?"

T'Pau raised an eyebrow at Sarek's boisterous entrance. Though he held full control of his emotions, he had made it abundantly clear that he was very displeased with cutting his visit with Starfleet short. In a tone that held just as much irritation as Sarek's, T'Pau said, "I assure you that what I have to say is far more important that your matters with Starfleet. I have brought you here to discuss your son, Spock. With New Vulcan's establishment complete, we have taken an official census of the remaining Vulcans who now reside here. In reviewing the census, it has come to my attention that T'Pring, Spock's intended, was among those who perished in the destruction of Vulcan."

Sarek's eyebrows rose on his forehead, but otherwise he showed no emotion. Seeing that she had Sarek's full attention, T'Pau continued, "The death of T'Pring means that Spock will need to choose a new mate. Given our race's current predicament, I am certain that you will agree that his new mate will need to be a female as well."

"I understand the gravity of our situation T'Pau," Sarek said, the irritation in his voice now less subtle. "However, I do not see how this merits my early arrival from Starfleet."

"You know full well that your son is currently on a five year exploration mission aboard the Enterprise," T'Pau retorted. "As such, it is impossible for him to come and pick a mate of his own. In addition, his father has not exactly set a good example of how to choose a mate of his own race, and therefore it is likely he will not be capable of choosing a suitable mate on his own. His rebellious nature is not one we wish to deal with when it comes to Vulcan re-population."

Sarek's eyes shot daggers at the elderly Vulcan who sat before him. He didn't appreciate her definition of an "urgent" matter; while it was of the utmost importance that they focused on rebuilding their race, it was not a matter that was worth rushing away from his duties as an ambassador. T'Pau looked back at Sarek, obviously challenging him to shoot a nasty response back at him.

The High Council saw the tension between the two and decided it would be best to try to reason with Sarek. One of the members stepped forward and placed a hand on Sarek's shoulder. In a calm, patient tone, he said, "Sarek, T'Pau is correct in her assessment of the matter. Our race is a mere ten thousand strong; though we have been able to successfully reestablish ourselves on a new planet in the past six months, any further blows to our current population will only endanger us further. It is of the essence that we turn our focus to repopulating the Vulcan race as soon as possible."

Another member stepped forward and added, "With Spock enrolled in Starfleet, there is no guarantee of when he will return to New Vulcan. The longer he is away from New Vulcan without choosing a new mate, the more likely it is that he will choose his mate elsewhere and the less likely his mate will be Vulcan."

Without turning around to face those who spoke, Sarek shot back impatiently, "Spock does not know that T'Pring perished in the destruction of New Vulcan. Do not assume that he will choose another mate so easily simply because of his enrollment in Starfleet."

"As I recall, you were already engaged when you chose your human mate on Earth, so do not presume that your son would choose to remain loyal to his life mate if he took an interest in another," T'Pau said, her eyes narrowed and still riveted on Sarek's. She countered the smoldering gaze he gave her with her own. "And in case you have already forgotten what it is like to lose a mate, the mental link they shared would have alerted Spock to her death, so it would be unnecessary for someone to tell him something he would have already felt. Surely when your wife perished, you felt the link you shared with her severe as well."

"I did," Sarek said with a deadly tone. He didn't appreciate T'Pau's ruthless reminder of the wife he lost, regardless of whether it was relevant to her argument or not. The conversation had gone on far enough. T'Pau had made her point and he was beginning to feel an overwhelming need to meditate.

Calming himself as much as he could, Sarek said, "I will review the census of surviving Vulcans in my quarters. From there I will choose a suitable mate for Spock. I will then make arrangements for Spock to come to New Vulcan and complete the engagement ritual. If you will excuse me…"

The High Council and T'Pau watched as Sarek turned on his heels and left the hall. The High Council exchanged apprehensive glances with one another while T'Pau simply stared at Sarek's back. In a low voice, she said, "Now I understand where Spock truly inherits his ill-tempered behavior…"

* * *

Sarek held his head in his hands as the screen in front of him scrolled through the names of available female Vulcans. There were more than enough women for him to choose a suitable mate for Spock, but he didn't want to do it. He had been free to choose his own mate and Spock should be free to do so as well. Yes, circumstances were completely different when he chose Amanda for his wife, but it didn't change the fairness of the situation. He didn't feel right forcing his son to marry someone he didn't love simply for the preservation of his own race, but he had to set an example. If Spock were allowed to choose his mate freely, other Vulcans would follow the same trend, and then what would happen? Of course, Spock was one of only a handful of Vulcans that were in Starfleet, but as the son of an ambassador of an endangered race, choosing to mate with a non-Vulcan would speak volumes against both him _and _Sarek.

Rising from his seat, he moved to the telecom and sent a transmission to the Enterprise. After a brief pause, he was connected with Spock's personal telecom in his room. Seeing his son's face filled his heart with happiness as it usually did and he had found himself missing him dearly during their time apart. As he gazed at his son's face though, he noticed something very different about him. Something about his aura seemed lighter than it had before they parted. Even his voice had a bright tone to it as he spoke.

"Hello father," he said, the corners of his mouth barely curving upward in a smile. "It pleases me to see you are doing well. To what do I owe this sudden communication?"

It had taken every bit of Sarek's control to not smile openly at his son when he first saw him; now it was all he could do not to give any hint of the news he had to share with him. "Spock," he began. "I wish I were simply checking on the status of your mission. I have just received news from T'Pau that your mate, T'Pring, perished when Vulcan was destroyed."

Spock's demeanor darkened, but only slightly to Sarek's surprise. Quietly, he said, "Yes, I am aware. I felt our link terminate when the planet collapsed in on itself. It is most unfortunate, but I have not been able to find it within myself to mourn her death anymore than I have mourned the death of any other Vulcan whose life was lost."

"An understandable reaction," Sarek stated. "You were bonded at a young age and never formed any true personal relationship with each other. Still, it is a most tragic development, as I am now forced by both the High Council and T'Pau to find you a new Vulcan mate."

Spock's eyes widened at the news. "You mean they wish to have me be arranged to mate with another Vulcan?" Sarek nodded slowly. "Father, you cannot be serious? I am an adult; I should be allowed to choose my mate freely. Why would they ask you to choose a mate for me?"

"Because you are enrolled in Starfleet," Sarek explained. "They are under the impression that you will follow in my footsteps and find a non-Vulcan mate. This goes against their plans to repopulate the Vulcan race, and therefore they have entrusted me with the task of choosing a mate for you. They have also asked me to inform you that as soon as I have made my choice, you are to make arrangements to travel to New Vulcan and initiate the engagement ceremony with your betrothed."

"Surely you jest," Spock said, staring at his father in disbelief. "I am in the middle of a five year exploration mission. I do not have the time to travel to New Vulcan and bind myself to some unknown woman I know nothing about. Besides that, unless it is a matter of life or death, I do not have the desire to ask an entire ship to make such a detour on my account. The needs of the many…"

"...outweigh those of the few, or the one," Sarek said, cutting his son off. "Yes, I know. But by that logic, the needs of your people outweigh the needs of those on your ship. I am certain they understand the situation that we are in and would be willing to put their mission on hold briefly for our benefit. I do not agree with the council's methods Spock, but I do agree that there is a great importance in keeping our culture alive. If we do not focus on re-population, the Vulcan race will disappear and become nothing more than a memory in the history of the universe."

"I understand the implications, Father, but that does not change the fact that my duty to Starfleet comes first and foremost. I can do more for our race on this ship than I will on New Vulcan. Besides, aren't there a large amount of Vulcan children who are currently orphaned because of Vulcan's destruction?"

Sarek sighed heavily. "Yes, there are, and sadly not enough Vulcan parents willing to take them in. This creates a different problem all together, but it is a problem that we have found a solution for. The greater problem lays with our re-population, hence T'Pau's insistence that you marry a Vulcan."

"I have yet to find a mate for you yet, Spock, so there is still time for you to find a mate of your own. Since you are only a half-Vulcan, it is possible that they may retract their insistence on your marrying a full blooded Vulcan, given the fact that any children you have would still not be full Vulcan." Sarek's voice lowered, "And I am certain they would not desire the birth of yet another Vulcan child with mixed heritage…"

Another time, Spock would have shown a great deal of sadness on his face from his father's words, but he had come to terms with his human heritage and embraced it completely now. No longer was he ashamed to be half-Vulcan; on the contrary, he was proud to be the child of two worlds, especially with a mother as wonderful and caring as the one he had.

Spock said to his father, "Do what you can. If in the event the council finds that I will need to be bonded to a full Vulcan regardless of my heritage, see if you can find a Vulcan woman that would not be adverse to falsifying a bond with me simply to pacify the council temporarily. If you are able to do that then we will have an effective back up plan."

Sarek nodded at his son. "If it were not for the fact that your cunning reminds me so much of your mother, I would reprimand you on thinking in such an illogical sort of way. I will excuse your madness and do what I can on my end. In the meantime, alert Captain Kirk of your situation so that he is prepared for anything."

"Understood. I will inform the captain of my situation immediately." He raised his hand in the traditional Vulcan salute and waited until his father mirrored him to end the transmission. Sarek placed a hand on his head and rubbed his brows. This wasn't exactly how he had imagined the conversation with his son panning out. The plan was doable, but it was not going to be easy. There were too many potential things that could go wrong and he had to find a Vulcan woman willing to lie to T'Pau and the High Council about bonding with Spock.

He lifted his head and almost smiled. There was one woman he could think of that would not only be willing to go along with their plan, but would jump at the chance to pull the wool over the High Council's eyes. He immediately pulled her up on the telecom. Moments later, her face appeared on the screen.

"Greetings Sarek. How can I help you?"

"T'Maire," Sarek said. "I have something important I need to talk to you about…"

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Spock opened his eyes and looked up at the blue-eyed captain who stood in his doorway. After the discussion with his father, he felt a desperate need to meditate. Before he did so, he asked Kirk to meet him in his room in half an hour. He had lost all track of time as he focused on negating his emotions and hadn't even heard Kirk enter his room.

He nodded at Kirk and rose from the floor as the captain walked further into the room, letting the door close behind him. Kirk shrugged and asked, "What's up?"

"I just received a transmission from my father," Spock said. "Apparently the Vulcan High Council is rather insistent on the re-population of the Vulcan race. They have asked my father to pick a mate for me and are demanding that as soon as he has done so that we make our way to New Vulcan so that we can perform the bonding ceremony."

Kirk's jaw dropped when he heard Spock speak. He didn't believe he had heard what he did, but he couldn't deny that he heard it. "Your father is picking a _mate _for you_? _So what, you're saying that he's setting up an arranged marriage?"

"Indeed. That is in fact exactly what I am saying."

"That's bullshit!"

"I assure you," Spock said, clasping his hands behind his back, "that I am as displeased about the news are you are. Luckily, my father believes that I should be allowed to choose my own mate."

Kirk shook his head. "Why is the Vulcan High Council requesting that you be arranged to marry another Vulcan? You're the child of an interracial family. If little Vulcan babies is what they're after then why not focus on getting the full blooded Vulcans to mate and leave you be?"

"It is likely that the direness of our race's situation is clouding their judgment. They are so desperate to keep our race from becoming extinct, that they will accept any variation of a Vulcan that they can get."

"If that's the case then why bother forcing you to mate with a Vulcan?" Kirk asked, anger heavy in his voice. "If they're willing to accept a Vulcan child that isn't a full blooded Vulcan then why not allow you to choose whoever you want to be with? And why are they in such a rush all of a sudden?"

Spock grew silent and lowered his head. "Because they have just been made aware of my fiancée's death."

Disbelief furrowed Kirk brow. "Fiancée?" he breathed. Spock's eyes closed. He couldn't bring himself to look Kirk in the eyes. Kirk took Spock's chin in his hand and lifted it up. The dark chocolate eyes of his love stared sadly back at him. It became harder to breath the longer Kirk looked into his eyes. Whispering through his pain, he said, "You were engaged?"

"Yes," Spock said, his voice barely louder than Kirk's. "Vulcan children are arranged to be married at a young age. My fiancée was named T'Pring. We were bonded by a special mind link during the engagement ceremony so that we would always know how the other felt. When Vulcan was destroyed, I felt our link terminate."

Kirk's crystal-blue eyes clouded over at the news. His heart felt as though a dagger had been firmly lodged into it. His voice still low, he asked a question he wasn't sure he really wanted an answer to. "Were you…" he swallowed hard. A lump had formed in his throat, making it hard for him to speak. "Did you two love each other?"

Warm hands touched the sides of Kirk's face. Spock leaned forward and pressed his lips against Kirk's mouth. It wasn't something he did very often without provocation, but when he did it, it erased any and all doubts from Kirk's mind. Kirk lowered his hands and placed them on the small of Spock's back, pulling him closer to him. There they stood in the middle of the room, time stopping completely for them as they kissed tenderly.

Spock finally pulled back from Kirk and broke the kiss. He smiled lightly at Kirk's half-closed eyes and slack jaw. He loved making Kirk look like that and did so every time he got the chance. "You should already know by now," he said, his voice velvety smooth, "that you are my first and only love. T'Pring and I shared a bond, there is no denying that. But it was cold and emotionless, just like the rest of my life as a Vulcan has been. There was absolutely no love in the bond we shared."

Smiling, Kirk nodded in understanding. "So Vulcans create a link with their minds when they choose their spouse, huh? Did your father have a link like that with your mother? You know, even though she wasn't a Vulcan?"

"Yes, he did," Spock answered. "Obviously when she passed, he felt the link they shared break as well." Spock looked deep into Kirk's eyes and saw compassion. Those blue eyes of his were hypnotizing; the longer Spock looked, the more entranced he became. He could spend the rest of his life looking only into those eyes…

"Jim," he breathed, "There may be a way for me to avoid a trip to New Vulcan. If I were to find a mate and link myself with them before my father is able to report his choice to the Vulcan High Council, I may be able to fore go an actual engagement ceremony. As we speak, my father is attempting to find a woman who would be willing to falsify a union with me to allow me to choose my own mate while still satisfying the High Council's wishes." Spock brushed his thumb against the side of Kirk's face and smiled. "Luck would have it that the man I have chosen for my mate is standing right in front of me."

Kirk's eyes grew wide as he realized what it was that Spock was implying. They had only been together for six months; was Spock really serious about spending the rest of his life with him? It was true that Vulcans were a monogamous race, but surely they didn't marry the first person they got serious with…right?

"Spock, are you sure?" Kirk asked. "I'm not saying that I disagree or that I'm not flattered or anything, but we haven't been together for that long, and Vulcans live a lot longer than humans. Are you absolutely certain that you want to spend the rest of your life with me? Do you…do you really think I'm worth living the rest of your life with as your spouse?"

Warm, moist lips pressed against his forehead. A bright smile that shined like sunshine spread on Spock's face, startlingly white teeth shimmering like pearls in his mouth. Kirk's heart did flips at the extremely rare sight of a full blown smile on Spock's face. Even though the Vulcan was much more emotive when they were in private, he was only graced with a full smile under the most special of occasions. Apparently, this was one of them.

"I find it amusing that one with as much confidence as you loses all faith in himself when it comes to matters pertaining to me." Spock accentuated his statement with a laugh, a phenomena that was more common than the smile, but coupled with it drove Kirk mad. He resisted the urge to cram his tongue down Spock's throat so that he could continue speaking, but the longer he gazed upon him, the harder it became to control himself. "I would not suggest spending the rest of my life with you without full certainty that it is what I want. My question to you is this: Do you feel the same?"

The question was enough to push him over the edge. Kirk lunged forward and mashed his lips hungrily against Spock's. The kiss was the embodiment of the pure unadulterated passion that coursed through Kirk's vein. Considering this, the kiss that Kirk planted on Spock's lips was full of love and devotion, feelings that Spock picked up on loud and clear and mirrored perfectly. The passion turned in tenderness and then finally broke, the two men gasping for air.

His lips ever so slightly touching Spock's, Kirk whispered, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Spock moved his hand from the side of Kirk's face and lovingly stroked his hair. Closing his eyes, Kirk leaned into Spock's caress, much like a dog being petted by his master. Laughing again, he pulled Kirk into an embrace and held him tightly. Kirk buried his face in the man's neck, nuzzling him.

It was strange. Spock had known in his heart that Kirk was the man he would spend the rest of his life with months ago, but somehow actually telling him and having the feeling reciprocated filled him with an unfamiliar bliss. This feeling, this simple feeling, was beyond anything he had ever experienced. There were no words that could truly describe what he felt at that moment. All the poetry in the universe could never come close to explaining the love he felt in his heart for this man.

As he held Kirk close, he could feel his heart racing. He felt Kirk shaking gently in his arms like a leaf caught in a spring breeze. He heard what sounded like a mixture of sobbing and laughter. When he pulled away from Kirk and looked at his face, he saw something he knew he would never forget: tears poured down Kirk's face, but his lips pulled back in one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen. Confused, he asked quietly, "Jim, what is wrong? You are crying, but you are smiling at the same time. How is this possible?"

Kirk laughed and wiped his tears away. Spock held onto his arms, afraid to let him go. It was funny seeing Spock fuss over him like that. "I'm sorry," he said with a shaky voice. "I forgot you're still not very familiar with human emotions. We don't just cry when we're sad. Sometimes we cry because we're so happy, the tears just fall."

Spock's brow furrowed. Kirk's explanation of his feelings did nothing to make sense of his reaction. The Vulcan still had much to learn about human emotions, and that was fine. Kirk was willing to spend the rest of his life teaching him. Laughing again at the Vulcan's utter confusion, he placed his hands on his chest and rested his forehead against Spock's. "Don't worry about it Spock. I'm fine. It's just for the longest time I thought I'd never find someone that loves me like you do. You make me happy. You really do."

"As do you," Spock said, smiling, but in a more subdued way. "If it is okay with you, I would like to perform the engagement ritual now. I do have to warn you; I will need to perform a mind meld in order to create the link between us. I know how you feel about mind melds, considering your first experiences with them have been rather negative." Spock's smile disappeared as he blushed and turned his head away. "I regret that both of your negative experiences were in one way or another caused by me."

Kirk fidgeted uncomfortably. It was true that the melds performed by both Prime and Spock had left a bad taste in his mouth when it came to mind melds, but seeing the sadness in Spock's eyes made him somehow feel as though it were really _his_ fault and not theirs. The ceremony meant a lot to Spock for obvious reasons, and he couldn't let his fear of mind melds get in the way of such a happy union. He only hoped that when they decided to get married, there wouldn't be anything involving mind melds again.

Taking a deep breath, Kirk said, "Its okay. We can do the ceremony." Spock looked at Kirk with wide eyes. Smiling softly, he added, "I'm not entirely comfortable with mind melds, but if it brings us closer together, I'm willing to do it."

Another dazzling smile appeared on Spock's face, sending Kirk for a loop. _**Two**__ amazing smiles from Spock in one day? _he thought._ This is really __**is **__a special occasion! _Spock nodded happily at Kirk and said, "Alright. If you are truly willing to perform the ceremony now, then we shall." He placed a hand on Kirk's chest and pushed him back gently. "Sit down."

Obediently, Kirk lowered himself to the floor and sat down. Spock lowered himself as well and sat cross-legged on the floor. Kirk followed his lead and folded his legs into position. His heart thudded loudly in his chest. He couldn't help but be nervous. If he understood what this ceremony entailed, he and Spock would forever be bonded, not just by heart, soul, and body, but by mind too. What he knew and felt would be shared with Spock and vice versa. This ceremony was beginning to sound less like an engagement ceremony and more like marriage. _I don't think I would ever have been this nervous if I was planning on marrying a human woman, _Kirk thought. _Something about picking a ring and getting down on one knee seems a lot less stressful than creating a mind link..._

Settling himself, Spock said in a soft, soothing voice, "I will now join our minds together. Are you ready?" Kirk nodded and tried to relax. Spock lifted his hands slowly and placed them on Kirk's face. Though he hadn't initiated the meld yet, he felt the fear that dwelled within Kirk. He smiled reassuringly and said, "It is alright. It will not hurt. Just relax."

Nodding again, Kirk took a few slow deep breaths to try and steady his nerves. In a still shaky voice, he said, "I'm ready."

"Then close your eyes."

Kirk closed his eyes, seeing only the darkness behind his eyelids. Spock also closed his and concentrated. "My mind…to your mind. My thoughts…to your thoughts. Our minds together…our minds are one."

Kirk expected to feel his world torn asunder, but he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. The world around him swirled blue and yellow. When he looked down at himself, he saw that he was naked. Looking up, he saw Spock, also naked. While it wasn't exactly displeasing to see Spock naked, but it certainly didn't make any sense.

Spock smiled at Kirk ever so slightly. "This is a much nicer experience than the other mind melds you experienced, is it not?"

Laughing, Kirk said, "Yeah, by far." He looked around him and took in the swirling environment around him. "So, where exactly are we?"

"This is the meeting ground of our minds," Spock explained. "It is different for each person. For us, this is how it appears. It is here that we will join together, and here we will meet in the future."

"O-kaaay…" Kirk said, not too certain he understood. "So then, what happens when we join?"

"We will be able to talk to each other through our minds. Distance is no longer an issue with communication; all we will need to do is focus on each other and we will be able to speak to each other. We will also be able to sense each other's thoughts and feelings as easily as if they were our own. Our intimacy will reach a new level, one beyond what we experience now."

Kirk smirked. "You mean things are going to be even _more _intense when we're in the bedroom? My God, I don't know if I'll be able to stand it, I might go insane!"

Spock couldn't help but laugh. He shook his head and smirked back at Kirk, marveling at the twinkle in his eyes. "I am certain that will not be the case. Your pleasure will now also be my pleasure, and vice versa. All you need to do is come to me."

Spock opened his arms wide and waited for Kirk to approach him. Slowly, Kirk walked over to where Spock stood and embraced him. He felt and saw a warm glowing light between them. He looked at Spock, who looked back at him, love shining in his dark brown eyes. Their lips locked in a kiss, and in that instant, Kirk felt all that was Spock flowing into him, and all that was him flowing into Spock. The light that glowed between them engulfed their bodies entirely until all that could be seen was white.

Both Kirk's and Spock's eyes flew open simultaneously. Their breath was ragged and in time with each other. Spock removed his shaky hands from Kirk's face and lowered them onto his lap. Kirk decided to test their new bond by trying to speak to Spock with his mind. He felt himself reach out to Spock mentally and say, _Can you hear me?_

With a grin, Spock nodded and responded. _Yes, I can hear you as clearly as if you were actually speaking to me. It seems the link has been established. From this point on you and I are one. _

Kirk grinned in return and said out loud, "Cool."

* * *

McCoy sat in his office, idly filling out forms for his last patient. Ensign Valerie Robinson was having marked discomfort in her right hand. When he examined her, he noticed that the joints in her hand were swollen. It seemed as though Valerie had a premature case of arthritis. He gave her the first of many treatments that would eventually cure the arthritis, but in the meantime she would have to wear a brace whenever she worked. Sadly, a procedure as simple as the treatment of arthritis resulted in a great deal of paperwork to fill out. Still, being a doctor in Starfleet was infinitely less of a headache than being a doctor back in Georgia.

Behind his door, he heard the familiar voice of his friend. Seconds later Kirk came flying into his office, screaming his name like a madman.

"BONES! BONES, BONES, BOOOOOOONES!"

"What, what, whaaaat?" McCoy replied, slamming his stylus down irritably on his data pad. "I'm trying to finish up some paperwork for a patient Jim. Can't your annoying little outburst wait?"

"Bones!" Kirk screamed, his hands waving in the air crazily. He could care less that McCoy was busy actually doing his job; his news was much more important. "Bones, Spock and I are engaged!"

McCoy's jaw dropped. He stared at Kirk incredulously as he stood up out of his seat. "No way! Are you pulling my leg?"

"Of course not!" Kirk shouted. "Why would I joke about something like this?!?"

McCoy took a moment to just stare at Kirk. His eyes sparkled like a child who had gotten just what they had asked for on Christmas Day. He fidgeted like a giddy school girl and threatened to start giggling like one as well. "My God," he said. "You're dead serious. You and Spock are engaged?"

"YEEEESSSSS!" Kirk screamed, flinging his arms around McCoy, who hugged him simply because it was the thing to do. He was still completely shocked, but he knew being a killjoy at that moment wasn't the best idea. Right now Kirk needed someone to gush to, and as his best friend, he was obligated to listen and be supportive.

Kirk pulled away and beamed at his friend, who smiled back. "Well, well, who would have thought that the great womanizer would settle down and get serious? Congratulations Jim; I'm very happy for you."

Beaming, Kirk said, "Thanks Bones! I can't stay and talk though; I still gotta send a transmission to my mom and tell her! We'll talk later!"

Just as quickly as he had rushed in, Kirk ran back out of the office, nearly bowling Chapel over in the process. She looked at McCoy with a look of confusion on her face and asked, "What in the world has gotten into him?"

Sitting back in his seat, McCoy simply sighed and said, "Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk are now officially engaged to be married." Chapel's face lit up as she clutched her hands together and smiled. "Oh my, that's wonderful news! I'm glad to hear that!"

Grumbling, McCoy said, "Yeah, that's real great."

* * *

"T'Maire? Of all Vulcan women you had to choose from, you chose _T'Maire?_"

Spock had absolutely no desire or ability to hide the shock and appall in his voice as he spoke to his father over the telecom. His father had responded quickly with the woman he chose to falsify an engagement with, which _had _served as a great comfort. At least, it had before he found out who his father had picked.

Sarek stared back at his son, barely able to contain his irritation with him. It was not easy to find someone who would be willing to lie to the Vulcan High Council about who they were engaged to. As it was, Sarek was rather reluctant to even propose the idea to anyone, but it was his love for his son that drove him to such lengths. Spock deserved more than an appointed wife that he may or may not love. His mother would never allow something like that if she had lived, and he was going to honor her wishes regardless of the risks.

Because of this, Spock's reaction to his choice both disappointed him and upset him. "I chose T'Maire," he said in a slow, dangerous tone, "because she was the one you were closest to during your childhood. Not only is she also in Starfleet, but she is stationed on a star base, and thus well beyond the High Council's supervision. They approved this union happily, not only because you both are in Starfleet, but because T'Maire also lost her mate in Vulcan's destruction. That coupled with her…unique personality…made the two of you the most logical pairing."

"Father…surely you cannot be serious," Spock pleaded. "T'Maire may have been closest to me during childhood, but it clearly is no longer the case. I cannot possibly…"

"…you can and you will," Sarek said, cutting Spock off. "You are not in a position to tell me what can and cannot be done. If you wish to have the freedom to choose your own mate, T'Maire is your only hope. Whatever displeasure you derive from her presence will only be short lived, and you will not need to halt your mission immediately to travel to New Vulcan. She has agreed to meet with you and arrange a time when it is most convenient for you both to travel to New Vulcan."

Spock's eyes widened to unnatural proportions when he realized what it was that his father was implying. "Do you mean to tell me that she is going to come aboard the Enterprise?"

"No. I mean to tell you that you will meet her at Star Base 215. She expects to see you sometime within the next two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Spock now stood and held on to his telecom. "Father, have you lost all sense of reason? I cannot possibly go to visit her! Surely there must be some other alternative?"

"_There is none!_" Sarek's voice had risen louder than it ever had, at least in Spock's lifetime. Granted, the volume of his voice was still nowhere near the volume of any other enraged race, but it was loud enough to silence Spock's protests. He swallowed hard and stared at the anger on his father's face. Not once in his life had his father let any anger show on his face, not even when he had gotten into a fight in the middle of the Vulcan Academy as a boy. This severe change in his facial features instilled a fear in Spock he hadn't felt since he faced Gabriel.

Sarek lowered his voice until it was merely a rumble. "You disappoint me, Spock. Your mother's one wish was for you to be able to live your life happily. I knew that allowing the Vulcan High Council to have their way and force you to be with someone for the sole reason of birthing a Vulcan child would go against her wishes, as well as yours. I chose the one person who understood you and would be willing to risk it all for your sake. Instead of showing gratitude, you question my actions."

"If you wish it so, I can pick another woman and _force _you to live your life out with her, regardless of whether you desire it or not. You can live your life knowing that you had a choice to control your destiny and turned it down because you could not accept the one person who cares more for you than she should. And you will die knowing that you never had a chance to know what love truly is."

Spock closed his eyes. His father was right. He was left with few options at this point, especially since he had already chosen Kirk as his life mate, a detail he had not yet been brave enough to mention to his father. If he was really going to fulfill his mother's last wish, he would have to go through with this. T'Maire was one of the last people he would ever want to be engaged to, even if in jest, but it was the only way he could live his life the way he wanted.

In a small voice, Spock said, "I will inform the captain. We will meet with her immediately."

Sarek nodded. "I knew you would see things my way. I have sent the coordinates for Star Base 215 to your telecom. I am sure she looks forward to seeing you."

The transmission ended promptly after Spock received the co-ordinates for Star Base 215. He stared at the numbers on his screen and sighed. _Well, I guess I will have to tell the captain…  
_

* * *

"SPOCKIEEEE!"

Spock barely had time to brace himself for the running hug he received from T'Maire. Kirk, who had joined him to meet his childhood friend while the rest of the crew explored the base, stifled a laugh rather unsuccessfully. T'Maire squeezed Spock tightly, her eyes shut and a dreamy smile on her face. She couldn't see the look of utter horror on Spock's face, but surely she felt how stiff and rigid his body was. Then again, maybe she was used to it...or didn't care.

"Oh Spockie, I missed you so much!" she looked up with shimmering eyes, completely oblivious to the disgusted look on Spock's face. "I thought you were going to write me after you entered Starfleet?"

Spock cleared his throat, desperately trying to maintain control of his emotions. T'Maire may have been his childhood friend, but that was no excuse for him to be lax with his behavior, at least while they were in public. "T'Maire. It is good to see that you are doing well. I have come with the captain of the Enterprise, Captain James T. Kirk."

T'Maire grinned wildly when she looked at Kirk, making him blush unexpectedly. "Soooo, _this _is the James T. Kirk I've heard so much about!" She walked up to him and stared at him relentlessly.

He laughed nervously and waved, "Uh, hi, nice to meet you…" She took the hand he waved with in both of her hands and brought it closer to her face. She drew in a deep breath and then kissed his palm. With wide eyes, he retracted his hand and examined the lipstick mark on his palm. _Lipstick? I didn't think Vulcan women even __**wore **__makeup!_

Her eyes twinkled as he made eye contact with him and smirked. "I know your secret now…" With a wink, she turned and motioned for the two men to follow her. Kirk looked at Spock, then at T'Maire, and then back at Spock again. Spock's eyes were closed and he shook his head as he followed T'Maire down the hall. Shrugging, Kirk followed as well.

Catching up with Spock, he spoke to Spock through their mind link. _Hey Spock, what's up with T'Maire? She's a Vulcan, but she's showing emotions like it's going out of style. Is she a half-Vulcan as well?  
_

Stone faced, Spock replied. _No, she is a full Vulcan. It may be hard to believe based on her behavior, but T'Maire is probably the most brilliant Vulcan alive. Unfortunately her vast amount of knowledge and incredible genius keeps her from wanting to control her emotions. For her it is a waste of time and brain power to try and maintain a certain appearance for those that don't really matter to her. In addition, she finds her emotions to be an invaluable asset to her work. A Vulcan with her amount of intelligence is not born very often, but when they are, they are always rather…erratic. _

_She's kinda cute, in a bizarre sort of way. As your childhood friend, I figured you two would have…_

Spock cut a look at Kirk that would have burned straight through his skull if it were a laser before Kirk could finish his thought. Their link conveyed Spock's emotions without him even needing to say a word. Kirk wisely chose to keep his thoughts and opinions to himself as much as he could.

They followed T'Maire to her quarters and sat with her at a rather decorative table she had in the back. Had they not been escorted in by her, they never would have guessed that they had stepped into a Vulcan's room. The walls were painted a soft pink, decorated with paintings that were centuries old. Her window had red velvet curtains around them and her bed was reminiscent of a Renaissance queen's.

T'Maire clasped her hands together and rested her chin on it, her elbows sitting on the table. She smiled and said, "So, you two are life mates I see." Kirk looked at her in surprise, but Spock looked at her knowingly. Kirk realized that just by holding his hand and kissing his palm, she had extracted the information from his mind. It seemed she was not only highly intelligent, but also a powerful telepath. "That explains why Uncle Sarek asked me to help you falsify a life bond with me. I doubt the Vulcan High Council would approve of _another _interracial relationship involving a Vulcan, especially with our race in its current situation."

"Actually, Father is not aware of my life bond with Captain Kirk. I have yet to tell him." Spock added, "And do not refer to him as 'Uncle'. That infers that there is some sort of blood relation between us. The High Council already thinks poorly of me as it is; it would only worsen my position if they thought we were related."

T'Maire tittered and slapped Spock on the shoulder, must to his irritation. "Oh Spockie, you haven't changed a bit! Still the same old stick in the mud! How in the world did you get a looker like Kirk to fall for someone like _you?_" She paused for a moment then smirked. "Oh, never mind, I already know!"

As she giggled madly, Spock's eye began to twitch. "T'Maire," he said, his patience wearing thin. "Would you mind explaining why I _had _to come and see you just to arrange a time for us to visit New Vulcan?"

"Oh, you didn't _have _to come!" T'Maire said, grinning. "We could have easily done this over telecommunication! But it had been so long since we had seen each other, I figured if I made it seem like a necessity when I spoke to Unc-" she quickly corrected herself when she saw the look on Spock's face, "er, Sarek, then I'd get a chance to visit with you for a little bit! And it's a good thing too, because now I really understand your situation!"

She winked at Kirk, who blushed again. Spock's eye twitched again as he realized that this was all a ploy just to get him to see her. He took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself, but it had no effect. T'Maire was the only person who didn't expect him to be so stiff and emotionless, but in turn managed to frustrate him more than any normal Vulcan had.

"So," she continued. "As for when we can go to New Vulcan and 'perform the life bond'," she put two fingers on each of her hands up in the air and motioned quotations. "Unfortunately I'm developing a brand new ship for the Federation, which is barely in its beginning stages, so I'm going to be busy for the next year. I doubt the High Council will be pleased with the news, but their word isn't absolute, whether our race is on the brink of extinction or not. But tell you what, when it's done, I'll send you a telecom and come pick you up." She grinned at Spock, who merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Sound good?"

Spock nodded. "Indeed. That would be an agreeable arrangement. That will prevent the crew from being interrupted from their mission simply for my own personal needs. If that is all…" Spock moved to stand but was immediately held back by Kirk.

"Aw come on Spock," Kirk said. "We just got here and you haven't seen your friend in a long time. It's obvious she wants to spend some time with you, so why not indulge her for a few hours? Besides, I wanna hear stories about when you were little!" Spock gave Kirk another look that would have killed him if it could, but this time Kirk countered with a pleading look that he knew Spock wouldn't back down from.

Sure enough, the Vulcan sighed and sat back down in his seat. T'Maire smirked at Kirk and said, "You, I like."

* * *

The crew of the Enterprise all returned to their ship after several hours visiting Star Base 215. Kirk entered the bridge with a huge smile on his face while Spock solemnly walked behind him, a green tint to his face and ears. Sitting down in his chair, he turned to Sulu and said, "Mr. Sulu, take us out." Sulu gave a nod and began maneuvering the Enterprise away from the ship dock. After they had cleared the star base, Sulu set a course for their next destination and relaxed.

Kirk looked up at Spock and laughed at his overly rigid pose. Mentally, he spoke to him, _Come on Spock, it wasn't that bad…_

_On the contrary, it __**was**__ that bad. I have never been so humiliated in my entire life._

Kirk laughed inwardly. _Ah, the joy of childhood friends. The moment they find out you have a significant other, they pull out every embarrassing story they can think of. They're not as bad as family members though. I'm dreading the day you meet my mother. Oh God, the stories she has to tell about me…_

Spock remained silent, both outwardly and inwardly. Kirk continued, _Look at it this way, at least you won't have to see her again for about a year or so._

Breaking his silence, Spock responded, _I have a feeling that a year will pass far sooner than I would like it to._


	2. Obligation

**Ch 1: Obligation**

Uhura swiveled in her chair on the bridge, her hand pressed against her ear piece. "Captain, we're receiving a transmission from an unidentified Starfleet ship. They're addressing it to you and Mr. Spock."

As soon as he heard the words "unidentified Starfleet ship", he knew exactly who it was that Uhura was talking about. It had been almost a year since they last met with T'Maire on Star Base 215, and it seemed like she finished her new ship a little faster than she had originally anticipated. He looked at Spock, who stood loyally by his side as always, and smirked at the grimace that graced his features. Facing forward, he said, "Put them on screen."

Sure enough, as soon as they were giving visual of their unidentified new arrival, he saw the familiar face of T'Maire grinning back at him. Everyone on the bridge other than Kirk and Spock looked in awe at the smiling Vulcan woman. On her face was a light dusting of eye shadow and blush that complimented her golden tan skin. Her lips were a faint olive green tint that looked far from a natural Vulcan coloring of lips, indicating that she was also wearing lipstick. It was a rare sight to see a Vulcan woman with as much makeup as this one wore; the only thing rarer was the smile she wore openly and unabashedly on her face. It was clear that this woman was an even more unique Vulcan than Spock was; despite Spock's half-human heritage, he exhibited textbook Vulcan behavior. That is, when he wasn't off duty with Kirk.

Kirk returned the grin fully and exclaimed, "T'Maire! You're looking just as lovely as you did when we met a year ago! I can assume the ship you're in is the new ship you built on Star Base 215?"

T'Maire blushed a light green, yet another rare sight to see for those only familiar with the average Vulcan, but one the crew was slightly more familiar with from seeing Kirk and Spock together. T'Maire flashed her perfect white teeth at Kirk. "Oh Kirk, you're such a flatterer!" she gushed, adding yet another non-Vulcan behavior to the steadily growing list of oddities. "Yes, this is indeed the new starship I built. We've named it the Santa Maria, and it's the first of the three ships we're building."

"Let me guess," Kirk said, still smirking, "the other two are called the Niña and the Pinta?"

The sound of twinkling bells filled the air as T'Maire laughed at the blue-eyed captain. By now half of the crew was short-circuiting from this woman's strange behavior. "Ever the observant one, aren't you? Yes, they will be called the Niña and the Pinta, and before you guess they will be used for exploration."

Spock couldn't help let out a rather dramatic sigh at the two's banter. Unfortunately, doing so brought T'Maire's attention to him. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, Spock," she said, having enough decency to refrain from using her nickname for him in public. When it came to business matters, T'Maire was as professional in her address as she could stand to be. "Like I promised, I've come here after the completion of my ship to take you to New Vulcan. If I have the permission of the captain, I would like to beam you aboard the ship and make our way there immediately. You'll be pleased to know that I wish to keep our visit to New Vulcan as short and sweet as possible."

Kirk looked up at Spock again, this time greeted with a look of exasperation. Through their mind link, he said, _Jim, do I __**really **__have to go through with this?_

_Yes, _Kirk said, sweetly yet firmly. _If you don't want to explain to the Vulcan council why you're engaged to your captain, you __**have **__to._

Spock pursed his lips and said nothing further, not out loud or mentally. Kirk turned back to the screen and smiled once more. "Of course you have my permission. Please give us some time to prepare Spock for his trip. Is half an hour okay?"

"That's perfectly fine Captain," T'Maire said, returning the smile. "We'll have a crew in the transporter room waiting for him. T'Maire out."

The screen went black, the musical voice of the Vulcan woman still ringing in the still shocked crew's ears. Spock let his shoulders slump as much as he dared in the presence of the crew and turned on his heel. Kirk rose from his chair and walked over to Uhura. He bent over and said, "Uhura, please alert Scotty to report to the transporter room. Once you have done that, you have the Conn."

With a nod, Uhura replied, "Aye Captain."

* * *

Spock placed the last of his clothing in his bag and zipped it up. He sighed wearily, not really wanting to leave, but knowing it was a necessary evil if he wanted to live out his life in peace with Kirk. T'Maire was unbearable, but not so unbearable that he couldn't spend an extended amount of time with her. Besides, maybe they really just needed some time together to get reacquainted. She was a year younger than him, and thus entered Starfleet after him. The moment he entered Starfleet, he cut all ties with her and avoided contact with her as much as physically possible. Starfleet was his opportunity to show everyone that he wasn't just an unfortunate result of interracial breeding, and associating with someone that was looked down on because of her total disregard of emotional control wouldn't help him in his ambition endeavors.

Now that he had been with someone who accepted him for who and what he was, he was beginning to wonder if he had been in the wrong for treating T'Maire so coldly. Other than his mother, she was the only one that really cared about him the way he was, not as he was expected to be. She gave him great comfort as a child and was the first real friend he had ever made. In retrospect, he was a fool to treat her the way he did just to save face.

It was easy to see how and why she got along with Kirk. When he looked at the two together, they really had a lot in common, almost as if T'Maire was a Vulcan female version of Kirk. They were both very emotive people and far more intelligent than they presented themselves. If Spock had been able to realize that he needed to be himself instead of what others expected him to be, it was possible that he and T'Maire could have become life mates and start a family. But what would have become of Kirk then? Would he had ever even considered Kirk as a romantic prospect?

Spock pushed these thoughts out of his head and picked up his bag, making his way out of the room and down the hall. It hadn't taken him long to prepare his clothes and Kirk was waiting for him in the transporter room. After five minutes with T'Maire, Spock was certain he'd remember why he never pursued a relationship with her. He was absolutely sure of it…well, 98.2 percent sure of it...

When Spock entered the elevator, he heard Kirk's voice. _Are you on the way to the transporter room already? You've only been in your room for ten minutes! _Spock smiled and replied. _You forget that Vulcans do not pack anything unnecessary when they leave for a trip. I packed only the essentials that I would need for approximately four days, which will likely be more than I actually need. Humans could learn something from watching a Vulcan pack for a trip._

Spock heard Kirk laugh in his head, a pleasant sound that made him smile even more. The elevator arrived on the floor where the transporter room was located and Spock stepped off the elevator. As he made his way to the transporter room, he heard Kirk respond. _There's nothing wrong with taking the occasional frivolous item you know. It helps make your trip more enjoyable. _

Smirking, Spock shot back: _Is that why you carried your teddy bear with you wherever you went until you were nine years old?_

Even though he couldn't see Kirk's face, he could feel the blood rushing to the man's face through their link. When he arrived at the transporter room, Kirk's face was an adorable shade of dark pink. He pointed at Spock and said out loud, "I swear to God, if you tell T'Maire, I will _never _forgive you!"

Spock's smirk grew wider. "You have my word that I will not tell her. However, if we were ever to mind meld, I couldn't be held accountable for what she finds out…"

Kirk playfully punched the Vulcan in his arm and grinned. Scotty looked at the two men and wondered what it was he had missed, but decided he probably didn't want to know. They locked eyes for a moment, enjoying one last look at each other's face before Spock left. Spock held out the index and middle fingers of his right hand and was greeted by the same fingers on Kirks' right hand. Since they had become engaged, they used this simple touch to show intimacy in public. To those familiar with Vulcan forms of expression, this was an undeniable sign of their love; to anyone else, it was simply a curious touching of fingers.

"I will send you a transmission when we arrive at New Vulcan," Spock said in voice that conveyed his love in a very subtle way that only Kirk picked up on. Kirk nodded and said, "Don't have _too_ much fun without me."

Spock closed his eyes and shook his head, which was his way of rolling his eyes at Kirk. Lowering his extended hand and placing it back at his side, he said, "I thought I made it clear that Vulcans do not experience this thing you call _'_fun'."

Kirk replied mentally with a smirk. _You seem to have plenty of fun with me when we're alone…_

Clearing his throat, Spock quickly moved to the transporter pad before Scotty could see him blush. Facing outward, he raised his hand in the traditional Vulcan salute and said, "I shall return soon, hopefully before you even realize I am gone. Mr. Scott, energize."

Scotty's hands fell into the familiar pattern of button pressing and lever pulling on the transporter console. Slowly Spock began to glow and then disappear, reappearing in the Santa Maria transporter room. T'Maire stood before him with her arms behind her back and a wide smile on her face. Greeting him with the Vulcan salute, she said in her musical voice, "Welcome aboard the star ship Santa Maria, Commander Spock."

Spock returned the salute and stepped off of the transporter pad. T'Maire threaded her arm through Spock's and began leading him out of the transporter room. Placing her head on her shoulder, she said, "We'll set a course immediately for New Vulcan. The trip there should take no less than a few hours, and once we've 'performed our engagement ceremony' to the Council's approval, we'll come right back and drop you off! You shouldn't be gone more than a day, two days tops!"

Inwardly, Spock drew a sigh of relief. It looks like he was right about packing more than he really needed; a thought that comforted him. T'Maire had hinted that the new ship she was building would be significantly faster than the Enterprise when they visited the star base a year ago, and it seems she had been correct. It pleased him that he'd spend as little time away from the Enterprise as possible, as it was almost the year anniversary from when he and Kirk had become engaged. He didn't want to be separated from Kirk on their anniversary, and if T'Maire was correct, they'd be back two days before it.

_I wonder if Jim is planning anything for our anniversary, _Spock thought to himself, careful not to let his thoughts reach Kirk. _Knowing him, he is likely planning some sort of surprise celebration to honor our first year of engagement. No doubt it will be something frivolous and taxing. _Spock couldn't help but smile at the thought. Whether he openly admitted it or not, he was looking forward to whatever it was that Kirk had planned.

* * *

"You guys have gotta help me plan something for my first year anniversary with Spock!" Kirk's voice was loud and frantic as he spoke to Uhura and McCoy in McCoy's office. Uhura sighed and shook her head at the now monogamous captain that had checked her out in an Iowa bar almost five years ago. McCoy had his arms crossed and a heavy frown on his face. He didn't know why Kirk had to come screaming into his office every time he had something "important" to say, but at least he had the decency not to bother him while he was with a patient.

"Can't you come up with something on your own?" McCoy said, clearly irritated by his frazzled friend. "I got better things to do than to hold your hand while you try to plan something for Spock!"

Uhura agreed with the grumpy doctor. "Honestly Jim, you've been with Spock for almost a year and a half now! You even share a mind link with him! How are you unable to think of some way to celebrate with him? You know what he likes and what he doesn't like, so this should be simple!"

"You don't understand!" Kirk said, flailing his arms in frustration. "This is all new to me! I've never been in a relationship for this long, especially one this serious! On top of that, this is _Spock _we're talking about! I could probably have come up with at least a dozen different things to do if he wasn't a Vulcan!"

"_Half-_Vulcan," Uhura and McCoy corrected in unison.

"_Dammit I know he's only half-Vulcan!_" Kirk yelled, causing both Uhura and McCoy to wince. Kirk's voice was already loud enough; hearing him yell made them both feel as though their ear drums would burst. "He's embraced his human side, we all know that, but that doesn't mean that he's going to want to do all the things a human would want to! I gotta come up with something that's boring enough to appeal to his Vulcan side and interesting enough to entice his human side!"

A light knock came at the door. All three of them turned to it and screamed, "_COME IN!_"

A meek Chapel poked her head into the room and looked at the three very angry looking people inside. "Uhm, excuse me," she said quietly, her voice shaking out of nervousness. "I couldn't help but overhear you three talking about what Captain Kirk should do with Mr. Spock for their first year anniversary. If I'm correct, we're not very far from a pleasure planet that many people from Starfleet visit when they go on shore leave. You could look up the details of the kind of services they provide there and perhaps find something that Spock would enjoy doing…"

Kirk, Uhura, and McCoy all gaped at Chapel. Unnerved by the intense stare she received from three different people, she blushed and said, "I-it's just a suggestion. It didn't seem like anyone really had a concrete answer, so I figured I'd try to help. Besides, we've been exploring continuously since we left Starfleet, so I'm sure the rest of the crew would like a little time off as well..."

Chapel tensed as she saw Kirk charge straight for her. She took a couple steps back but not fast enough. Kirk wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly. His laugh rang in her ears as he picked her up and spun her around. Caught off guard, she clutched on to the captain and gave a cry. Placing her down on her feet, he held her out in front of him and said, "Christine, you're a genius!" He planted a firm kiss on her cheek and rushed out of sick bay to begin researching the pleasure planet.

Swaying somewhat unsteadily on her feet out of dizziness, Chapel leaned against the doorway to McCoy's office and looked Uhura and McCoy. They both shrugged, McCoy saying, "Whatever gets him out of my office…"

* * *

Kirk sat at his desk in his room and looked at the specifications for the pleasure planet with a joyous look. The planet was incredible; it was as if it were terra-formed for the specific purpose of being an entertainment paradise. There was gorgeous scenery of all types, resort like hotels built specifically for tourists and Starfleet officers on shore leave, malls, amusement parks, museums, bars, clubs, nature trails, concerts…just about anything you could think of.

His eyes glittered with excitement. On a planet like this, it would be a piece of cake to come up with a plan for an incredible getaway. Surely he could find something that Spock could enjoy while still exposing him to new and exciting experiences. And of course, the crew would definitely have a good time as well.

It was settled. As soon as Spock returned from New Vulcan, he would set a course for the pleasure planet and allow the crew to spend a week relaxing in paradise. He grinning and fidgeted excitedly in his desk chair. He couldn't wait for Spock to get back! Placing his arm on his desk, he propped his head up with his hand and began to daydream about the fun he and Spock would have. As he daydreamed, he thought, _I wonder what Spock's doing right now…_

* * *

Spock's eye twitched for the sixtieth time as he listened to T'Maire blather on about what she did during the time they had been apart. His belief that he had been too harsh with T'Maire and that she had matured was swiftly contradicted as soon as they made their way to New Vulcan. It had been three hours since she had started talking and it didn't seem like she'd stop until they arrived at New Vulcan. Actually, it didn't look like she'd stop talking after they arrived there either. He looked at T'Maire, who was _still_ talking.

"T'Maire," he interrupted, happy to _finally _hear something beside the sound of her voice. "If I may ask, how much longer before we arrive at New Vulcan?"

Smiling warmly, she said, "Another two hours. We're making excellent time though. Normally it'd take a day and a half from where we took off. We're traveling seven point two times faster than the Enterprise does right now. That's why I didn't assign a room to you when you arrived; it'd be a waste to have you walk all the way to your room, stay there for only a few hours, and then have to hop off the ship when we arrive."

Another twitch. That made sixty one times in the last three hours. "You do realize," he said in a slow, steady voice, trying desperately to remain calm as he spoke, "that even with such a drastic decrease in travel time, I would want a place of my own to rest in instead of staying in your quarters?"

T'Maire blinked for a moment, looking blankly at her old friend. "You know, you're right…" Spock dared to have a hopeful look on his face. Laughing, she slapped him on the back and said, "Oh well! Too late to worry about that! After all, you're already here in my room and I haven't prepped a room for you to crash in, so why not just chill out with me? Oh, that reminds me of a funny story…"

Twitch. That made sixty two. _Great, __**another **__'funny' story… _Spock wondered how many funny stories he'd have to endure before the trip was over. He was also beginning to worry about his eyes. At this rate, he might develop a permanent twitch…


	3. Friendship

**Ch 2: Friendship**

McCoy stood outside of Kirk's quarters, debating whether or not he should go inside. It was ridiculous; Kirk and Spock had been together since the start of their mission, and yet he still hadn't gotten over his feelings for Kirk. He had tried, Lord knows he had tried. Inevitably, there seemed to be no easy way for him to move past his feelings and solidify the friendship he had with Kirk. Something told him he may _never _be able to truly bury his feelings; it was likely that even if he fell in love with someone else, he'd still hold a place in his heart for Kirk.

However, his feelings were moot at this point in the game. Kirk and Spock were to be married, and Kirk was clearly thrilled at the thought. He still remembered the sheer happiness on his face when he ran into his office nearly a year ago. His voice had a glee in it that he had never heard him convey before. It was very obvious how happy Spock made Kirk, which should make McCoy happy in turn. But it didn't. It made him miserable.

He had told Chapel that he was going to move on. That he would forget how he felt about Kirk and simply be the supporting friend he needed to be. But as time passed, he found himself wishing more and more that Spock would slip up. Whenever they had a fight, McCoy pleaded to God that it was their last fight. That Kirk would finally say that he had enough of the cold-hearted green-blooded hobgoblin and longed for someone with a real heart. But that moment never came. Each time they fought, they made up again, and each time they made up, McCoy lost a little more hope.

Now that they were engaged, there was no way that they'd ever break up. Vulcans were an extremely monogamous race and never divorced. Technically this was a very admiral trait, one that the human race could have learned from and probably the only trait that McCoy respected the Vulcans for other than their profound logic. But in his situation it meant that there'd never be an opportunity for him and Kirk to be more than friends.

Chapel never said anything about it, but McCoy could clearly see that it tore her apart that he still pined away for Kirk. He hated to do it to her; she was a beautiful woman and a part of him really wanted to be with her, but he just couldn't bring himself to stop loving Kirk. What made it worse was that he was still very distrustful of women after what his last wife did to him. Perhaps that was why he clung so tightly onto his love for Kirk instead of pursuing things with Chapel.

McCoy cleared his head of the thoughts that plagued his mind and knocked on his door. Now was not the time to focus on himself; he had to put his own feelings aside to be the supporting friend that Kirk deserved. He had made other friends since he had become captain of the Enterprise, but he knew that Kirk valued him the highest out of them all.

Kirk called out from behind the door, "Come in!" Even with these two simple words, McCoy could hear the happiness in his voice. The feeling of a dagger in his heart mixed with a floaty feeling that made his chest feel oddly torn in two just by hearing the tone of his voice. He opened the door and found Kirk staring at his monitor intently. The screen showed details of the paradise planet Chapel had mentioned.

"Hey Jim," McCoy said, trying to sound as casual as possible. "How goes the anniversary plans?"

The smile that Kirk gave McCoy could have lit up the entire ship. In that instant, McCoy would have given anything to make Kirk smile that way for him. As much as he hated it, he envied Spock, who was the lucky recipient of brilliant smiles like that on a regular basis.

"This place is amazing Bones!" Kirk said, excitement ringing in his voice as he returned his focus to the monitor. He scrolled through the planet's details to provide McCoy with visual reference for what he talked about. "The planet's got incredible scenery! Beautiful plants, a beach side resort, gorgeous cliffs, waterfalls…and that's not all! It's like everything on this planet was built to entertain any and all types of people! There're museums and libraries for intellectuals, bars and clubs for party people, nature hikes and scuba diving for nature nuts, you name it, they got it! Christine was right; this place would be a perfect place to celebrate our anniversary _and _a great place for the crew to spend their shore leave!"

"Well, looks like she's actually useful for something!" McCoy joked. Kirk smirked at McCoy and said, "Oh don't be such a mean old codger, you know she'd do anything for you!"

McCoy's face fell when he heard Kirk say that. He hadn't come to talk about Chapel; he had come to talk about Kirk and Spock. It seemed Kirk didn't really care about that though. "When are you gonna make a move on her, man? Are you waiting for an engraved invitation or something? Or are you just scared?"

Turning away from Kirk, McCoy said, "I didn't come here to discuss my relationship with Nurse Chapel."

"Yeah, well it needs to be discussed," Kirk said, smiling. "She's a really sweet woman McCoy, and I know you feel _something_ for her. You're not still trying to get over the divorce are you?"

"No, I could care less for that sad excuse for a woman!" McCoy blurted, staring at Kirk with fiery eyes. Kirk gulped, realizing he had pushed too hard in the wrong direction. "If you must know why I won't pursue Nurse Chapel, it's because I'd rather focus on our work relationship! She's trying to learn how to _become_ a doctor, not how to marry one!"

Kirk laughed and shook his head. "Man, I've known you for over four years. I know that's a load of bullshit. There's something else that you're not telling me." McCoy turned his head away again, not wanting to look into those ocean blue eyes that probed him for information. Though his face was turned away, Kirk could see the pink tint of his face. "You still haven't gotten over me have you?"

McCoy may not have said anything, but his face betrayed his emotions. Kirk sighed. "I knew it. I was afraid that's what it was."

"So what if it is?" McCoy snapped. He stared at Kirk with his icy blue eyes. "I've been trying for a year and a half to stop thinking about you, but dammit I can't do it! You've weaseled your way into my heart and I can't pry you out of it! I don't know what kind of spell you cast on me, but trust me, if I could dispel it, I would! I _want _to move on! I _want _to pursue Christine! But every time I see your face or hear your voice my heart squeezes tight and I fall under your spell again!"

"Guess this is my curse," Kirk smirked. "I'm just too damn sexy for anyone to resist me, male or female."

"Oh get your head out of your ass you pompous bastard!" McCoy growled. Kirk laughed so hard he had to grip his stomach. McCoy crossed his arms and shot a furious look at the laughing Kirk. "Well I'm glad my misfortune is amusing to you!"

Kirk caught his breath just enough to reply to McCoy. "Oh relax would ya? It should be obvious that I'm trying to clear the cloud of despair you conjured up!" He clapped a hand on McCoy's shoulder and gave another one of his million dollar smiles that made his heart melt. "Look, it takes a while to get those kinds of feelings to dissipate. You spent a long time wanting to be with me and now that I'm unattainable, you can't help but want me even more."

McCoy's eyes rolled as he heard his friend spout a bunch of trash. Kirk saw this and shook his shoulder. "Hey man, I'm serious! At this point, you probably don't even really love me anymore; you just want me because I'm forbidden fruit! And that's great and all, but you got someone really great that'd give anything for you to give her a loving glance. Quit thinking about me and go after her! You'll regret it if you don't."

"I'm so glad you make it sound so easy," McCoy said sarcastically. "Now can we _please _stop talking about _me _and go back to talking about you and Spock? You've told me that this place is 'perfect' and all, but you still haven't told me what you're actually planning to _do _with Spock there!"

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it, Bones!" Kirk grinned. "I don't _have _to come up with a concrete plan if we go here! All I have to do is bring Spock there and we can come up with our plans while we're there! It'll be completely spontaneous and fun! We can go to whatever it is he wants! That way I don't take him somewhere that he might not like or that will be over-stimulating for him! He can try new things at his own pace and we can have fun together! It's perfect!"

McCoy rubbed his chin. "Well, it _seems _like it could work out, but do you think you'll be able to stand being pulled around to whatever it is that Spock is interested in? He doesn't seem like the adventurous type, so whatever he chooses could actually be pretty boring."

Kirk shrugged. "It's worth a try. You never know what Spock is capable of until he's put in the right situation. Besides, even if I wind up being bored out of my mind, at least I'll be bored with Spock, so it won't be _too _bad. As long as he has a good time and finally gets a taste of what 'fun' really is, anything I have to deal with will be more than worth it."

McCoy stared at his friend in slack jawed awe. "Wow," he said, "looks like this relationship with Spock has taught you some maturity!"

Grinning, Kirk slapped his friend on the shoulder. "See Bones? Being with that pointy-eared bastard has done me some good after all!"

* * *

Sarek stood alone as waited for Spock and T'Maire to beam down from the Santa Maria. T'Pau had instructed him to greet Spock and T'Maire and lead them to the conference hall after they arrived. He didn't understand why she insisted on bringing each and every Vulcan couple to the conference hall to perform the ceremony when they were perfectly capable of performing it on their own in private, but he assumed it was her way of ensuring that each betrothal was properly documented and on record. This made falsifying the ceremony much more difficult, but as always, he had thought of a solution ahead of time.

Two swirling forms began to materialize before his eyes which quickly became Spock and T'Maire. Simultaneously, they raised their hands to give Sarek the Vulcan salute, which he gave in response. In addition to the salute, he was greeted by a smile on T'Maire's face. Though she tried to submerge it, Sarek sensed her desire to embrace him. He was thankful that she refrained from such an open display of emotion when she stood outside the High Council's headquarters.

"It is good to see you again Father," Spock said, his voice monotone. In the musical voice that still betrayed her true feelings no matter how hard she tried to keep it even and emotionless, T'Maire added, "It has been a long time Sarek. It is good to see you are well."

Sarek nodded at the two youths before him. "It pleases me to see that you two have made it here safely." Spock and T'Maire came closer to Sarek and awaited further instructions. "I have been instructed to lead you two to the conference hall to perform the engagement ceremony. We will make our way there at once." In a low voice, he added, "Though we will be in the audience of T'Pau and the rest of the High Council, you will still be able to falsify the link. Instead of a life bond, you will form a friendship link before the High Council. That will allow you two to satisfy their wishes without becoming betrothed."

Silently, Spock and T'Maire acknowledged Sarek's plan and followed him to the conference hall. As they walked, Spock thought about what he and T'Maire were about to do. He hadn't anticipated needing to perform the engagement ceremony in front of not only T'Pau, but also the High Council. What seemed like a perfect idea was taking an unwanted turn. He knew that simply going through the motions wouldn't be good enough to fool any Vulcans that witnessed the ceremony, as their telepathic powers would be able to pick up on the connection they didn't make. Now he was guaranteed to be stuck with T'Maire until one of them died now, a thought that made his stomach churn.

After walking for a short time, the three Vulcans arrived in the conference hall. Though the High Council was not nearly as high up as they had been in the conference hall on Vulcan, their seats were still perched at a daunting height above them. Spock swallowed his nervousness down, not wanting the Council to pick up on the fact that linking with T'Maire was the last thing he really wanted to do.

In a strong voice that echoed through the hall, Sarek announced their arrival. "Council, T'Pau, as instructed, I have brought Spock and T'Maire here to perform the engagement ceremony. With your permission, we will begin immediately."

T'Pau nodded, her face grim. On either side of her sat the members of the High Council. "Very well, you may proceed." Sarek turned to face the two and allowed an apologetic look to grace his features. This isn't what he wanted for his son, but at least he had chosen his "mate" wisely. Had he picked any other Vulcan woman, Spock would surely be forced to form a proper life link and mate with a woman he had no guarantee of loving.

He turned to face Spock and T'Maire and nodded. Spock and T'Maire sat down on the floor and faced each other. They each extended their left hand and placed on each other's face. Closing their eyes, they focused on each other mentally and spoke in unison: "My mind…to your mind. My thoughts…to your thoughts. Our thoughts together…our minds are one.

Spock felt the world around him transform as he mind melded with T'Maire. When Spock opened his eyes, he found that he stood in a field filled with wildflowers. The sky above them was bright blue, large fluffy white clouds scattered throughout it. A strong yet pleasant breeze blew through the trees around them and blew flower petals into the air. Spock looked at T'Maire in wonder. He hadn't imagined that such a place would be seen in a Vulcan's mind. Then again, T'Maire was not a typical Vulcan.

She gave Spock a warm smile and said, "So, it looks like we'll be bonded for the rest of our lives in one way or another."

Spock nodded. "I apologize that we have been forced into such a situation, however, we are fortunate that my father mentioned the High Council's intentions in advance. Now I will still be allowed to be life mates with Jim, and you will also be allowed to choose your own life mate."

T'Maire gave a laugh and looked down at the flowers at her feet. "If things were different, I wouldn't necessarily be upset that we'd become life mates." She raised her head and smirked at the surprised look on Spock's face, her face a deep green.

"At any rate, I'm glad to say that we'll be linked in some way for the rest of her lives. I know you don't think very fondly of me Spock, but I've always cared deeply for you. You've already chosen your life mate, and I don't plan on interfering in any way, not after seeing the bond you share. But that doesn't mean that I don't love you."

It was Spock's turn to turn green in embarrassment. He now resented the ill feelings he had towards T'Maire. He had always had an inkling that she cared more deeply for him than she led on, but hearing it made the heavy feeling of guilt weigh him down. T'Maire picked up on his guilt and laughed lightly. "Come on, I didn't tell you that because I wanted you to feel guilty. I told you because it'd be better to tell you up front than to have you pick up on it after we make the link."

He stood silently for a moment, and then said, "If that is the case, then I should also tell you something before we make the link. I do not hate you T'Maire. If anything, I envy you. You're a full blooded Vulcan, yet you are open with your emotions. You do not let the restraints of our race's expectations dictate who it is that you are and how you act. For that, I respect you far more than I have let on. I wish I had your bravery."

T'Maire walked through the flowers toward Spock and hugged him tightly. Hesitantly, he raised his arms and returned her hug. Her eyes closed, she said, "You're braver than you give yourself credit for Spock. You're the child of two worlds, but instead of letting it tear you apart, you do all you can to prove your worth. Even with your mother gone and your one true love a human, here you stand defying the High Council and living your life as _you_ desire. If that is not bravery, I don't know what is."

Spock allowed himself a smile as he closed his eyes and felt the familiar warmth of a founding link merge them together. For the first time, he was happy to be T'Maire's friend. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the conference hall, staring directly at T'Maire's face. She stared back at him and smiled. He heard her voice in his mind: _Now we will be together until death do us part. Maybe not in the way I'd like, but I can definitely live with it._

Nodding, Spock turned to his father. "It is complete," he said. "We are now linked." Sarek turned to the High Council and received a nod from each one. T'Pau stood from her seat and spread her arms open. "From this day forward, Spock and T'Maire are life mates. Let it be recorded so all will know." She lowered her arms and looked down at the three Vulcans below her. "You are free to go."

Bowing, they turned and left the conference room. As they left, Spock spoke mentally to T'Maire: _And now we've officially 'pulled the wool over the Council's eyes', as humans would put it. _

_Yes, indeed we have, _T'Maire replied, laughing mentally. _But the real question is what do we do when you and Kirk decide to get married? How are you going to explain that the Council? Or better yet, how do you plan to explain that to __**Sarek**__?!?_

Spock took a deep breath and sighed. _I will 'cross that bridge' when the time comes. Until then, we'll just have to keep my betrothal to Jim a secret from my father._

_Not a very good idea if you ask me. He __**did **__just put his position on the Council on the line for your benefit. Keeping him in the dark only makes more trouble for you. Why not just come out and tell him?_

Spock decided not to respond, but instead kept his eyes facing forward. T'Maire sighed and shrugged. It technically wasn't any of her business what happened between Spock and Sarek, so she backed off. She just hoped that everything worked out for the best and that this didn't come back to bite Spock in the butt.


	4. Wedding Plans

**Ch 3: Wedding Plans**

Kirk and Uhura sat in her room wearing pajamas. Uhura wore a white spaghetti strap top and pink pajama bottoms, while Kirk wore a white sleeveless shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. In each of their hands were a spoon and a pint of ice cream, pistachio for Kirk and vanilla chocolate swirl for Uhura. They both sat cross-legged on her bed as they chatted.

This was not the first time the two had sat in Uhura's room in such a way. The weekly Saturday night ritual began a couple of months before Kirk and Spock had become engaged. Kirk had come to Uhura's room late one Saturday night for advice after a particularly bad fight and had caught her just before she had gone to bed. Seeing the tears streaming down his face, Uhura knew just what to do. She went to her refrigerator and pulled out her emergency stash of ice cream and made him sit down on her bed. After polishing off the ice cream, they stayed up for a few hours talking about how stupid men could be.

It tickled Uhura to hear Kirk openly bash men of the same things that he himself had been guilty of before he had gotten serious with Spock. It was even funnier to hear him apologize on behalf of his gender, stating that if the blood to their brain wasn't rerouted to their reproductive organs so often, maybe they wouldn't act like complete idiots all the time. In a million years, she never thought she would hear James Tiberius Kirk, once known as the notorious womanizer of Starfleet Academy, speak so poorly about men, but now that she had, she thought it was funny as shit.

It was after that fateful night that Kirk started coming to her room regularly every Saturday night. Of course, rumors about Kirk cheating on Spock with Uhura spread throughout the ship. Naturally Spock inquired as to the legitimacy of the rumors only to be told the honest truth. He was taken aback at the sudden kinship he shared with Uhura, but paid it no mind. Considering Uhura was Spock's ex-girlfriend and Kirk was his boyfriend, it made sense that they would get together and 'dish' about him.

On this particular night, Uhura was drilling Kirk about wedding plans. "Okay," she said, licking her spoon of the ice cream that still clung to it, "so, it's obvious that Bones is going to be your best man and Spock has chosen me as his maid of honor. Are you guys going to have anyone else in your wedding party?"

Kirk took a moment to finish his mouthful of pistachio ice cream before he answered. "Well, if I'm assuming correctly, I'm sure T'Maire will be asked to stand on Spock's side. If that's the case, I can always ask my brother to be on mine. Other than that though, that's it. Vulcan weddings don't have nearly as much of the pomp and circumstance as a human wedding, so there won't be worries about picking a venue or any of the junk. The reception on the other hand will be a little different. I figure we turn the recreation room into a giant reception hall and celebrate there."

Uhura nodded as she ate another scoop of ice cream. "Alright, sounds good. We've talked about your color scheme, which is going to be yellow and blue. So my next question is what do we serve for food?"

"Are you kidding?" Kirk said through another mouthful of ice cream. "Half of the party is vegetarian. All we gotta do is serve them a shit ton of Caesar salad and we're set."

Rolling her eyes, Uhura asked, "And what about the _rest _of your guests? The crew will be attending too, as well as your family. Caesar salad will work as an appetizer, but what about the main course?"

Kirk shrugged. "I dunno…just serve them some chicken and vegetables or something. That's fancy enough to suit their tastes I'm sure. It's all going to be made by a replicator anyway, so why sweat it you know?"

Uhura sighed. At times like this she was rudely reminded that even though he understood the plight of women everywhere, Kirk was _still _a macho lunkhead who didn't care much for fine details. Exasperated, she asked, "Have you _at least _picked a date for the wedding?" The blank look on Kirk's face answered her question. Stabbing her ice cream angrily with her spoon, she said, "How the hell do you _not _have a date planned for your wedding? You've been engaged for almost a year now! What have you been doing this whole time?"

"Spock," Kirk answered slyly. "And I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you referred to him as a 'who', not a 'what'."

His laugh was cut off by a pillow hitting him square in the face. Rubbing his face, he put his ice cream down and grabbed another pillow, smacking Uhura on top of her head with it. Putting her ice cream on her night stand, she stood on her bed and began attacking Kirk with her pillow. Kirk rose from the bed and did his best to combat her surprisingly strong hits.

The two laughed as they assaulted each other with the fluffy Starfleet regulation pillows, which started spewing feathers with each hit. Gaining the upper hand, Kirk beat Uhura into submission before dropping his pillow and tickling her. Gasping for air, she managed to scream, "_Truce! TRUCE!_" Both clutching their sides from the laughter that made their bodies ache, they both sat back down on the bed.

"You know," Uhura said after she finally caught her breath, "if someone told me four years ago that I'd have a pillow fight with you in my room after eating ice cream in my pajamas, I'd probably have had them report to sick bay for a full mental evaluation."

Kirk grinned at her and put an arm around her shoulders. "If someone told me four years ago I'd be making wedding plans with Spock's ex-girlfriend instead of having sex with her, I'd probably do the same thing."

She laughed and put her arm around Kirk as well. "I'm definitely glad that you and I have put our differences behind us and become friends. I gotta ask though, why did you come to me to talk about wedding plans instead of McCoy? Sure, I'm a girl, so I think about these things anyway, but he's your best friend."

"Phhht, are you kidding me?" Kirk exclaimed. "The moment I'd ask him for help, he'd just say 'Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a wedding planner!'" Uhura laughed at the accuracy of Kirk's imitation of McCoy, which he had down even to the exact sound of his voice. "Besides, he's still carrying a torch for me. Asking him to help me plan a wedding with someone he doesn't really like would be a bit of a slap in the face, know what I mean?"

"Uh, hello? I'm Spock's ex-girlfriend. Don't you think coming to _me _for help planning your wedding is a bit of a _faux pas_ too?"

Kirk shrugged. "Well, technically yeah. If you were still single, it'd be a pretty shitty move on my part. But if I'm correct, you and Scotty have a little bit of a thing going, so it's not so big of a deal." The blush that tinted Uhura's chocolate colored skin confirmed Kirk's suspicions. "By pursuing Scotty, you've made it clear that you've moved on. If I had even the slightest suspicion that you were still in love with Spock, I would never have even come here to ask for advice that one night."

"And then we'd never be where we are now," Uhura said with a smile. "Trust me. I prefer this to the alternative. I've never been one to focus on the things I can't have anyway. I bowed out gracefully after you and Spock became an item and I never looked back."

Kirk gave Uhura a look that quickly made her amend her statement. "Okay, so I didn't exactly bow out _gracefully. _I kinda made an ass of myself."

Another look from Kirk. Huffing, she said, "Alright! I was a flaming bitch who wanted to try and pull you and Spock apart! Jeez, I already told you I was sorry for that, what more do you want?!?"

Smirking, Kirk gave Uhura a friendly kiss on the forehead. "I just want to make sure you're being honest about it when you recount that 'special' time before we became friends."

Uhura rolled her eyes and pushed the laughing Kirk off of her. He reached over and reclaimed his almost empty carton of ice cream, happily resuming his consumption of the green pistachio flavored frozen dessert. Crossing her legs, Uhura grabbed her ice cream and brought a drippy scoop to her mouth. "Back to our conversation," she said. "I'll go ahead and give you more time to think of the more nit-picky details like wine choices and cake designs. Since I know there's no way you'll actually come up with these things on your own, I'll do some research and give you some options later. I gotta ask though, what are you planning for your honeymoon?"

Kirk's face lit up when Uhura asked this question. "Ah, now _that_ I have an answer for! My grandfather owned a cabin in Montana that he had planned to pass down to my father when he was old enough. Since he kicked the bucket a lot sooner than expected, he bequeathed it to me. It's got a gorgeous view of the lake, and in the morning you get a great view of the sunrise. At night you can see every single star there is in the sky. Once Starfleet clears us for family leave, we'll spend some time there."

"If that's the case, why not wait until the end of our mission to get married? I mean, it's not like there's a huge rush. You've made that _abundantly _clear. That way, when the mission ends, you and Spock don't have to wait for approval from Starfleet to take family leave. You _know _how long Starfleet can take with requests like that."

Kirk nodded as he scraped the last of his ice cream from his now empty pint. "Yeah, they're bastards like that. It's not a bad idea though. I think it'd be a nice way to end the mission too, don't you think? After spending five years floating through the stars and exploring, the Captain and his First Officer get married in holy matrimony. The crowd roars and then goes home to their families."

He looked up and thought for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Nah, I don't think I wanna wait that long to get married. Gives Spock way too much time to back out if you know what I mean," he said, shooting a wink at Uhura.

Uhura smirked at Kirk's wink and chuckled. "If Spock were going to back out, he would have already done it," she said, replacing the top of her ice cream carton securely. She rose from her bed and took Kirk's empty carton as well, walking it to the trash chute. Turning, she continued, "I can see what you mean about the whole long engagement thing. Aside from the whole cold feet thing, there's the fact that you never know what could happen to us out here. The longer you wait, the more likely it is for something to happen either to you or to Spock. Better to plan the ceremony to be sooner rather than later."

Kirk rose from the bed, stretching and yawning loudly. "Yeah, you're right. I don't see us being engaged for more than another year at this rate. That's not too bad either though; Spock and I would be going on leave right around the mid-point of our mission. That'd give me plenty of time to choose someone as a proper replacement for us both until we return. I doubt you guys would do too much to get yourselves in trouble for two weeks or so."

"You'd think," Uhura said, flopping back on her bed. She yawned loudly and pulled the covers over her. "Well, I hate to kick you out, but I'm exhausted. Going to bed right after ice cream probably isn't the best idea, but I can't keep my eyes open another minute."

"Yeah, I hear ya," Kirk said, walking toward the door. "I'm gonna head to my room and hit the hay too. G'night, Uhura."

Mid-yawn, Uhura gave a sleepy "G'night," before turning her room lights off. Kirk walked out of the room and wandered down the hall, ignoring the looks he received for walking around in his pajamas. _You would think after doing this every Saturday night for over a year, people would be used to seeing it by now, _he thought to himself. The amusing thing was the looks weren't because they were surprised to see him in pajamas, but because it was their chance to admire the captain's physique. The thin cotton shirt clung closely to his torso, showing the muscular form beneath it easily. He couldn't help but smirk as a yeoman stared at him with an open mouth and lowered eyes as he passed her. He may only have eyes for Spock now, but that didn't mean he didn't like being checked out.

Kirk reached his room and was just about to face plant onto his bed when he saw his telecom flashing. Thinking it might be Spock, he rushed over to the telecom and accepted the transmission. To his surprise, it was a recorded message from his mother. He pressed 'play' and sat back, smiling at his mother's face.

_Hey Jim! I hope everything is going well with your mission. I know it hasn't been that long since my last transmission, but I have exciting news! Remember how I said George and Aurelan were trying to have a girl? Well it finally happened! Aurelan's pregnant and it's a girl! I don't know when you're planning to have your wedding, but it looks like you may have your flower girl if you need one! Do Vulcan weddings have flower girls?_

_Well, I better run dear. I'm sure you're very busy doing Captain-y stuff and all, so I don't want to keep you. Oh, before you get married, do make sure I get to meet Mr. Spock. I'd love to meet the man who finally got my son to settle down! I'll make sure he gets to try my famous blueberry cobbler! Keep in touch, honey. I love you!_

The transmission ended far sooner than Kirk wanted it to. He loved seeing his mother's face and hearing her voice. He had expected to miss her when he went on his mission, but not nearly as much as he found himself missing her as of late. They hadn't always gotten along so well; it wasn't until Kirk decided to join Starfleet that their relationship improved. Even though they still butted heads about his step-father, the tension between them had lessened greatly when Kirk's life finally took a direction. He knew it made her especially proud that he was following in his father's footsteps, something she had always secretly hoped.

_So, I'm finally going to have a niece, _he thought to himself with a smile. _I bet she'll be a looker just like her mother. Her brothers are going to drive her insane trying to keep the guys away from her. Hopefully no one like me chases after her._

He chuckled to himself and stood up. The clock on his desk read 02:19 AM. It was way later than he needed to be awake, but it wasn't an unusual bedtime for a Saturday night. There were some nights where he and Uhura would be up so late, they'd only get an hour or two of sleep before having to report to their posts. At least this time they'd get a few hours of sleep before having to wake up for duty.

Kirk sighed at the empty bed. Normally when he came to his room after spending time with Uhura, Spock would be curled up in his sheet, sleeping soundly. When he lowered himself into the bed, the coldness of the sheets made him cringe. Tonight sleep would take a little longer to come to him. He thought about reaching out with his mind to see if Spock was asleep, but something told him that he was.

Just as he thought this, he heard Spock's voice in his head. _Jim? Are you still awake?_

Kirk's face lit up, a reaction he made sure to convey to Spock through their link. _Yes, I'm still awake. I was just thinking about how cold the bed is without you in it. I'm lying in bed right now, how about you? I figured by now you'd be asleep._

_Normally, yes. However, I am finding it hard for me to fall asleep without you by my side. Also, I am sharing a room with T'Maire, who unfortunately snores quite loudly while she sleeps._

Kirk laughed at the thought of the girly T'Maire snoring. _I can see where that would keep you up then. Guess I'll tell you now instead of when you come back: I just received a transmission from my mom. George and Aurelan are expecting their first daughter to be born in the next few months._

_Congratulations. It looks like you will finally have the niece you have been wanting. Do you plan to spoil her?_

_Heh, who knows? I may not have to, I'm sure Aurelan is going to shower her with love the moment she's born._

_I will never understand why humans focus on the obtaining of children of both genders, particularly those that are the same gender as them._

Smiling through his link as well as physically, Kirk responded: _Maybe you and I can think that through together. I'm a little too tired to think about it now though. I'm going to try and get some sleep before my shift starts. You should try and get some sleep too._

_You are right. I will let you sleep. We will be returning sometime tomorrow, likely in the afternoon. I look forward to seeing you again._

_And I you. Have a safe trip back Spock. Good night._

_Good night, my t'hy'la._

With a grin on his face, Kirk turned off his lights, lowered his head on his pillow, and closed his eyes. Though their conversation had ended, he could still feel Spock's presence. He may not have had Spock's warm body next to him, but feeling him in his mind was comforting enough to soothe him to sleep. Once he fell asleep, Spock pulled back into his own mind and fell asleep as well.


	5. Vacation

**Ch 4: Vacation**

Kirk's fingers drummed impatiently on the arms of his chair as he waited for his shift to end. To the annoyance of his fellow crew members, he had been fidgeting like this since he came aboard the bridge. The planet they were exploring was just another boring hunk of rock floating in space, save the abundance of dilithium crystals on its surface. They made sure to add the planet to their list of resources in this quadrant so they could report it to Starfleet. Within months, Kirk was certain Starfleet would set up a mining base at this planet; they weren't one to ignore a good thing when they found it. Other than that though, he was bored senseless and anxious for Spock's return.

When Uhura announced that the Santa Maria had just dropped out of warp on their port side, he flew out of his seat. Almost running straight into the elevator door out of excitement, he instructed her to send them a message giving Spock clearance to be beamed aboard and rushed into the elevator. While he waited for the elevator to descend to the floor the transporter room was on, he jogged in place so he could zoom out as soon as the elevator door opened. Nearly running into at least four crew officers in the process, he raced to the transporter room.

Skidding to a halt before he could pass the room up, he ran into the room and looked at the ensign that sat at the post. Nearly shouting, he asked, "Do you have a lock on him yet?!?" The ensign stared at Kirk with wide eyes and replied, "No Sir, I just got the go ahead from Uhura to beam him aboard. I was just about to do that…"

"Well what are you waiting for?" Kirk said, gripping tightly on onto the transporter console and giving the ensign a crazed look. "Hurry it up!"

"Y-yes sir!" the ensign stuttered. As swiftly as he could, he searched for Spock's signature in the Santa Maria transporter room and began to beam them aboard. Kirk did a dance as he waited for his body to materialize on the transporter pad. Under his breath, he muttered, "Come on, come on, _come on, COME ON!_"

Finally, Spock rematerialized aboard the Enterprise. Instead of his Starfleet uniform, he wore a dark grey Vulcan suit. It didn't matter to Kirk what it was that he wore though, he was simply happy to see his face. Grinning wildly, he rushed over to Spock before he could give the Vulcan greeting and pulled him by his arm. Shock kept Spock from speaking verbally to his betrothed, but mentally he asked: _Jim! Where are you taking me? I just got here!_

_Just come with me! You'll find out soon enough!_

Spock felt a rush of excitement course through him from Kirk as he was led into the elevator. Their anniversary wasn't for another day, so why was Kirk so excited today? He kept silent as Kirk pulled him out of the elevator and led him to his room. The hand that had pulled him by his arm had slipped down and grasped tightly onto his hand. Electric currents danced upward from Spock's hand, up his arm, and down his back. He tried to keep his heart beat steady, but the emotions that flowed into him from Kirk's touch made it incredibly difficult. Spock felt himself becoming excited too, though he had no idea what lay in store for him.

It wasn't until the two came barreling into Kirk's room that Kirk's grip on Spock's hand released. He faced his fiancé and grinned, his perfect white teeth gleaming in the dim lighting of his room. "Okay," he said, breathless from pulling the Vulcan behind him from the transporter room. "Take a look at what's on the monitor."

Spock walked over to the glowing monitor and examined the colorful advertisement on it. He read out loud, "'Kalthoria, a planetary paradise. Escape the worries of everyday life. Starfleet officers welcome!'" Spock turned his head and looked at Kirk. "Jim, I am not sure I understand…"

"It's where I'm taking you for our year anniversary!" Kirk said, squirming excitedly. "Since we've all been exploring continuously since we started our mission, the crew's in need of a vacation anyway, and Starfleet _did _say that we could take breaks as we needed them. So I figured I could take us all to Kalthoria, give the crew a break, _and _celebrate our anniversary there! It's a perfect place; there's literally something for everyone there!"

Returning his attention to the monitor, he scrolled down and looked at the attractions offered by the planet. As he looked, he found several attractions in particular that caught his interest. Some of them were things he already held a profound interest in; others were new things that sounded exciting and would likely be enjoyable for Kirk as well. He walked over to Kirk, wonder flashing in his deep brown eyes.

"Jim, this planet really is as you say. I find myself…excited. I am not used to this emotion. I feel charged and jittery. How long before we arrive there?"

Kirk smirked and said, "I was waiting for you to come back before we plotted a course, but I had Sulu give me an estimate on how long a trip there would take. From where we are now, we'll be there be there sometime tomorrow morning. All I gotta do is give Sulu the word and we'll be off!"

Moving to his intercom, Kirk rang the bridge. "Mr. Sulu. Set a course for Kalthoria, warp seven." Sulu's voice played over the intercom: _Aye Captain. _After getting confirmation of their new heading, Kirk pressed the intercom again, this time making an announcement to the entire ship. _This is Captain Kirk speaking. We are currently heading towards the planet Kalthoria, where we will be taking a week of shore leave. Please begin packing immediately, as we will be arriving sometime tomorrow morning._

Kirk released the button and walked over to his bed. Sitting down, he patted the spot next to him and smiled at Spock. "Now that you know what I've been up to while you were gone, why don't you tell me how things went on New Vulcan?" Spock nodded and sat with Kirk on his bed. He repositioned himself on the bed so that his head lay in Kirk's lap. Allowing himself to show the fatigue he felt, he closed his eyes and said, "There is much tell…"

* * *

Eliza Montalban was walking down the ship's corridor with her Sirian friend Astinder when she heard the news. Stopping in the middle of the hall, she turned to the furry science officer and grinned. "Did you hear that?" she asked excitedly. "We're finally getting a break!"

Astinder's tail wagged rapidly from side to side as she looked at her half-Orion companion. "Yes, yes we are! I'm so excited! Kalthoria is run by many of my people, so it will be nice to visit with them again!"

"No way," Eliza said. "Kalthoria is run by Sirians?"

Astinder nodded enthusiastically, her tail wagging even faster. "Yes indeed it is! Well, only the main continent really. Kalthoria has many islands that surround the main continent that are either uninhabited or owned by individual races, but it was the Sirians that started the whole entertainment craze on the planet."

"Sirians have always had a very hospitable nature, and they discovered Kalthoria during an exploration mission. The entire planet had a suitable environment to turn it into a pleasure planet, so we began building hotels and other attractions. Since then, it's become the hot spot for Starfleet officers seeking shore leave! I should contact my parents right away and ask them if they have enough availability at their hotel for the entire ship!"

"Wow," Eliza said, her emerald eyes wide. "Your parents own a hotel? That should mean you're loaded right?"

Astinder giggled. "Technically yes, but don't think you'll get to borrow any money from me!" Laughing, the two continued on their way to their quarters to pack.

* * *

"That's very kind of you to offer your hotel for the crew to stay in during our shore leave Mr. Nayvolo," Kirk said. He had been called to the bridge when they had gotten close enough to Kalthoria to receive transmissions. The furry dog-like man before him grinned at him happily. Though he couldn't see it, Kirk knew that the man's tail was wagging.

"Oh no Captain Kirk," he said, "it's our pleasure to provide our daughter's crew with a place to stay. We're so very proud of her. She's the first person in our family to join Starfleet, which will surely add even more prestige to our family name! I'm sure in time the whole universe will know of the Nayvolo family!"

Kirk smiled kindly at the lively man, reminded of a dog he had when he was a boy back on Earth. "Well Mr. Nayvolo, we appreciate it very much. I'll be sure to pass along my thanks to your daughter as well. At our current speed we should arrive at Ninolgog City in about ten hours. I do hope that's ample time to prepare enough rooms for us all."

"Of course it is! You're fortunate that you're catching us in the off season. Our hotel is usually one of the most popular on the planet when tourist season is in full swing, so there wouldn't even be enough room for our own daughter if she came then!" The Sirian's laugh sounded remarkably like a joyous bark. "Not to say that our hotel's empty, but we have plenty of available rooms that have been kept in tip top condition for just such an occasion! We look forward to your arrival!"

"Thanks again Mr. Nayvolo. Kirk out." When the screen went black, Kirk let out a huge sigh of relief. Sirians were a very friendly race, but perhaps a little too energetic for Kirk's tastes. The hospitability was on par with the Japanese back on Earth, and their enthusiasm was probably three fold. In any case, he was glad his crew now had a place to stay, since he hadn't exactly thought about that when he picked the planet…

* * *

Spock looked at his wardrobe in quiet frustration. The planet they were going to visit was of a tropical climate, but the only things he had to wear were either his Starfleet uniform or traditional Vulcan clothing. The temperature of the planet was somewhat cooler than that of New Vulcan, which had almost exactly the same climate as Vulcan did, so his comfort was not an issue. His worry was that his clothing would not be appropriate for the various types of activities that he and Kirk would be engaging in.

In all his life, Spock had never had to worry about what to wear; he simply put on an outfit and went through his day. Vanity was not something he had to worry about, as that was a non-Vulcan emotion that he never experienced. Now that he had embraced his human side, he found that he was much more self-conscious about things like his ears and his clothing. These human emotions he now had to contend with on a daily basis were proving to be an enormous pain.

The door to his quarters opened and Kirk walked in. Curious, he asked, "Spock? What are you doing?"

"I am attempting to plan appropriate dress for our shore leave Jim. I am finding it rather difficult to choose what to bring with me."

"Spock," Kirk laughed, "you do realize that Starfleet officers visit this planet all the time, as well as races from various other planets? I highly doubt there will be anyone scrutinizing you for what you're wearing. Just bring some extra uniforms and some of your Vulcan suits, its fine."

Stubborn as a mule, Spock shook his head. "I am afraid I cannot comply. I find myself very concerned over what choice of clothing I should bring. I assume you will have what you refer to as 'casual' wear that you will be bringing with you. Regretfully, I do not have anything of the sort to bring with me. Considering we will spend a great deal of time together, I do not want to 'stick out like a sore thumb', as they say."

Kirk couldn't help but smirk at Spock. As annoyed as he could tell he was with his newfound vanity, Spock was unbelievably cute fretting over his wardrobe. It also made him feel special knowing that he had made a Vulcan self-conscious about his appearance for his sake. He took Spock by the hand and gently led him out of his room and down the hall to his. Spock silently followed obediently, like a child being led by his parent.

When they arrived at Kirk's room, Kirk began pulling clothing out of his dresser. He pulled out a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a few t-shirts, and some socks. Closing the drawers, he handed a pair of shorts and a blue buttoned down shirt to Spock. "Here, try these on and see how they fit," he said, turning around to allow Spock to change.

Spock quirked an eyebrow as Kirk and asked, "Is there a reason you are turning away? You have seen me naked before; I do not see why you would avert your eyes while I change." Still facing away, Kirk said over his shoulder, "Yeah. And in case you haven't noticed in the last year and a half, watching you peel clothes off puts me in the mood for sex. If you want this to be productive, I'll need to face away while you change. Just hurry it up, will ya?"

Shrugging with his eyebrows, Spock removed his uniform, put on the shorts, and buttoned up the shirt. "I am done," he said after buttoning the final button and straightening the clothes out. Kirk wasn't the best at folding clothes, so his outfit was somewhat wrinkled. When Kirk turned around, he couldn't help but laugh at the Vulcan. It seemed that there was a big enough difference in their builds that made Kirk's clothes fit rather baggily on Spock.

Ears tinted green, Spock crossed his arms angrily. "I do not appreciate your laughter at my expense Jim." Still chuckling, Kirk wrapped Spock in a tight hug. "I'm sorry Spock, I don't mean to laugh. I just expected my clothes to fit a little better on you. Tell you what, change back into your uniform and we'll try asking Sulu if we can borrow some of his clothes. He's about your height and build, so his clothes should fit a lot better."

Nodding, Spock waited until Kirk released him and turned back around before he put his uniform back on. He tapped Kirk on the shoulder to alert him that he was finished. They left the room and made their way to Sulu's room. Luckily, when they knocked on the door, Sulu was in his room. A muffled "Come in!" came from behind the door, signaling that it was okay to enter.

When they entered Sulu's room, Sulu was in the middle of packing a bag full of his clothes. Kirk gave Sulu a smile and said, "Perfect timing! I'm glad we caught you while you're packing Sulu! Do you have any spare clothes that Spock could try on?"

Sulu raised an eyebrow at Kirk. "Why does Spock need to borrow clothing from _me?_ Not that I'm trying to be a dick or anything, but I thought he had clothes of his own?"

"Yeah, he does, but he doesn't want to walk around on a tropical pleasure planet looking like the universe's biggest stick in the mud. He tried some of my clothes on, but they're pretty baggy on him. I figured since you guys are about the same build, he could try some of your clothes on and borrow them, if that's okay with you of course."

His eyes shifted from Kirk to the blushing Spock. "Well," he said cautiously. "I don't mind lending him some clothes, but you gotta promise you guys won't do anything…you know…while he's wearing them. If the mood strikes you, please, _please _make sure you don't do it in my clothes."

Kirk gave Sulu a wink. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that Sulu. Spock and I will _definitely _make sure we take your clothes off of him if we decide to do anything."

If it were possible for Sulu to turn red and green at the same time, he would have. Instead, his face decided to become devoid of any color as the thought of Kirk and Spock doing anything sexual, especially in his clothes, made him feel ill. "Oh God…I didn't mean…I…ugh, just…try on one of my shirts and a pair of jeans."

Kirk rummaged through Sulu's shirts and found a green one that looked like it would suit Spock. He then grabbed the first pair of jeans he saw and handed both the shirt and the jeans to Spock. Sulu and Kirk both turned to allow Spock to change. Sulu looked at Kirk and said, "Why are _you_ turning around?"

Raising an eyebrow, Kirk asked, "Do you really wanna know why?" Sulu shook his head furiously. "No," he said, "no I don't."

Seconds later, Spock tapped them both on the shoulder to indicate that he was done changing. The two men faced Spock and examined how the clothes fit on him. Kirk was pleased to see that Sulu's clothes fit him much better than his had. Sulu also nodded in approval at how Spock looked in the clothes; he actually thought the Vulcan looked a little better than he did in them, a thought that filled him with envy.

"Looks good from the front Spock," Kirk said with a smile. "Turn around and let's see how they fit in the back." Sulu's attention switched to Kirk and back to Spock, who had turned to face the door and held his arms out. It had been clear from the front that the clothes fitted Spock perfectly and a view from the back was not needed, but quite obviously was desired by Kirk. The jeans fit Spock rather tightly in the back, fitting the form of his butt a little too perfectly for Sulu's taste. When Sulu looked at Kirk and saw him biting his lip, clearly holding back the wave of lust that swept over him, he fought back a gag.

"Oookay," Sulu said, spinning Spock around much to Kirk's disappointment. "The clothes fit you great Spock. I've pretty much got everything that I need for the trip clothing wise in my bag already. Take what you need from my dresser." Spock and Kirk began pulling clothes out of the dresser drawers when Sulu added, "Just…whatever you do, _please _make sure you wash my clothes before you return them. And spare me any and all details of what you do while he's wearing them."

Smirking, Kirk said, "Sure, I'll try to remember," giving a wink before he and Spock left the room with a week's worth of clothes in their arms.


	6. Happy Anniversary!

**Ch 5: Happy Anniversary!**

Sleep didn't come easy for the young couple, or for half of the ship for that matter. Those that weren't on night duty lay awake in their beds or chatted excitedly with friends in various parts of the ship. It was as if the next day was Christmas and the entire crew was comprised of young children waiting for Santa Claus. Kirk and Spock in particular lay in Kirk's bed cuddling, eyes wide open.

The clock on Kirk's dresser changed from 23:59 PM to 0:00 AM. Wearing a smile on his face, Kirk looked down at Spock's face and said, "Happy anniversary, Spock."

Spock shifted his head on Kirk's chest and smiled softly. "Happy anniversary, Jim. Now that we have remained awake long enough to see the changing of the day, it might be wise if we went to sleep now. Spending most of the day fatigued due to lack of sleep would not make for an enjoyable celebration."

"Yeah, I know," Kirk replied. "But I can't help it! I'm really excited about arriving at Kalthoria tomorrow morning! I can't wait to see what the hotel looks like! Astinder told me there's a giant fountain in the front that shoots water a hundred feet up into the air! She also said that the floors are made of marble and that every room has velvet curtains over the window! Are you even the slightest bit excited?"

Closing his eyes, Spock gave a chuckle. "Of course I am excited; I cannot help but be excited because of the link we share. I am in fact so excited that sleeping will be extremely difficult unless you calm yourself down enough to allow me to sleep."

"I'm trying, I'm trying! I keep closing my eyes but they keep popping back open!"

"If you need assistance, I could always call Doctor McCoy and request a mild sedative…"

"You'll do no such thing!" Kirk said. "The last thing I want is Bones stabbing me in the neck with another one of his hypo sprays! With my luck he'll mix it up with one of his weird vaccines and I'll spend our anniversary salivating uncontrollably or something…"

"I could always perform a Vulcan nerve pinch to put you to sleep. That will guarantee that your body and mind will relax enough to allow me to sleep as well."

Kirk looked down at Spock, giving him a disapproving look. "Thanks but no thanks. Last time you did that I woke up on Delta Vega."

Looking back at Kirk with an innocent look on his face, Spock said, "I was merely trying to be humorous Jim."

"Yeah, well you suck at it," Kirk said, scowling. "You should work a little bit more on your jokes."

Spock took a moment to think. Coming up with a potentially suitable idea, he asked, "Would it be acceptable for me to sing you to sleep?"

Kirk looked down at Spock and saw his cheeks turn a light green. He couldn't help but smile at the sweet look on his face. Though he could probably think of a few other ways he could be put to sleep (half of them rather inappropriate), the idea of Spock singing him to sleep was so touching, he found himself desiring it. He gave Spock a nod and shifted further down his body so that their positions were switched. Spock also shifted his body further toward the head of the bed so that Kirk's head was resting against his chest. Kirk nuzzled Spock as he placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat against his ribs.

Stroking Kirk's hair gently with one hand and touching Kirk's fingers with his other, Spock began to sing the song his mother sang for him when he was a boy. The combination of the vibration of the notes that resounded in Spock's chest, the stroking of his hair, and the warm flow of love coming through Spock's fingers soothed the excited Kirk. It only took a minute of Spock singing in his deep velvety voice to put Kirk to sleep. The soft sound of air passing through Kirk's parted lips put a smile on Spock's face. Wrapping his arms around the sleeping man, Spock fell asleep as well.

* * *

Morning came all too slowly for the excited crew of the Enterprise. Those that managed to sleep at all woke up extra early. Everyone was zipping around, trying to finish last minute tasks before they arrived. People everywhere were getting bumped and banged as the corridors filled with people. On the bridge Sulu drummed his fingers excitedly on the helm, his bag sitting next to him. Chekov also had his luggage by his side, more than ready to zip off to the transporter room as soon as they arrived at Kalthoria. They were almost there, so it was only a matter of minutes before they'd dock at the planet's docking station and begin making their way down to the planet's surface.

When they dropped out of warp, Sulu and Chekov immediately brought their hands to their usual positions on the console and began the docking procedures. Slowly the ship turned, its rear pointing straight into the dock. With the precision of a seasoned pilot, Sulu led the ship straight backwards into the dock, stopping at just the right distance from the back wall. After making a few more adjustments and pressing a few more buttons, Sulu and Chekov grabbed their bags and flew toward the elevator behind them. Only a few of the crew members on the bridge managed to get in the elevator before them, the rest crashing in after them. The officer closest to the controls pushed the button for the docking bay.

Elevator rides were normally somewhat slow; there was never a need for the elevator to go faster than it did. To everyone's delight, the elevator went significantly faster that morning. No one seemed to care that the reason it was moving faster was because far more than the recommended capacity was inside of it. Fortunately, there was a safety in the elevator's design that allowed a certain amount of weight over the recommended capacity, so there was no danger of the elevator breaking and plummeting to the bottom floor. The safety also disallowed the addition of any new passengers until its current load was emptied, much to the frustration of crew members on different floors that had yet to descend to the bottom of the ship.

When they all reached the docking bay, they raced out of the elevator and flew down the docking tubes. When they reached the end, they began crowding the opening leading to the station. Unfortunately the Kalthoria station crew wasn't as attentive to their jobs as Starfleet was and took their time with getting the doors open. By the time they had opened the doors leading to the Enterprise's docking bay almost half of the ship's crew had accumulated and entered the station in droves. The sensitive noses of the Sirian officers were overloaded with the scents of dozens of men and women of varying races. Some of the younger officers held their noses to block some of the scents that bombarded their nasal passages, their ears tucked behind their head and their tail between their legs. Normally Starfleet officers entered the station in an orderly manner, so there was enough time for the Sirian's to prepare for the different aromas of each individual person. As always, the crew of the Enterprise proved to be a special case.

The last of the crew to exit the ship were a somewhat frazzled looking Kirk and Spock. They had stayed behind to make sure everyone exiting the ship had everything they needed before leaving. Once they were beamed to the planet's surface, there would be no returning until the end of their shore leave, and nothing ruined a trip like forgetting something you needed or wanted to bring.

The crew chattered loudly as they waited for their turn to be beamed down to the planet's surface, creating a din that threatened to make the Sirian officers' ears bleed. They were very happy that the arrival was always much more hectic than the departure, so this would be the last time they'd have to deal with the boisterous group on this level. The crew was beamed down in groups of six; the process was grueling at best, but the large group was slowly whittled away until Kirk and Spock brought up the rear, marking the last of the crew to the relief of the station's officers.

Save for Astinder and a couple other Sirian crew members, no one was prepared for the sight before them. They had beamed directly in front of the Nayvolo Hotel, a massive white stone building which stood 20 stories high and surrounded them in an enormous semi-circle. Each of the massive windows housed a cast iron balcony with a glass canopy that arched over it. Just as Astinder has promised, a giant fountain shot water high up into the air, spraying the awe-stricken crew members beneath it with mist.

Staravinius Nayvolo walked out of his hotel with his arms wide spread and a huge smile on his face. His grey-colored fir was complimented by his short-sleeved purple robe, which was trimmed with shiny silver embroidery. On his feet were dark gray sandals; on his fingers glittered many jeweled rings. Somehow Kirk and Spock had managed to be beamed at the very front of the group and thus were the first to be greeted.

"Ah, Captain Kirk! It is so wonderful to see that you and your crew have safely arrived! The missus and I have been looking forward to your arrival!" Staravinius grasped Kirk's hand tightly in his furry hand and pumped it enthusiastically. Kirk tried to smile, but his body was being shaken so much the best he could do was to have his mouth hang awkwardly open.

Before he could even say a word, an excited "Papa! Papa!" came from the back of the crowd. Pushing her way to the front of the mass of crew members, Astinder rushed forward and was caught in a loving embrace from her father. "Tindy!" he said, the smile on his face even bigger now. "Oh Dearest, it's so good to see you! Your mother will be so happy to see you!"

Somewhere in the crowd came a couple of amused giggles. The culprits turned out to be Eliza and a red-headed science officer. Hearing her friends laugh at her, Astinder's ears pressed flat against her head in embarrassment. She released her father and ducked her head down. Unaffected by the girls' laughter, he lifted his daughter's head and said, "Do not be embarrassed to show affection to your father, no matter who is watching Dearest." He tapped her gently on the nose, eliciting another smile and gaining another hug before she returned to the group.

Kirk took the opportunity to say, "We thank you very much for allowing us to stay in your hotel. I can assure you that Starfleet will compensate you for our visit."

"Tut, tut!" Staravinius said, wagging his finger at the Captain. "The friends of our daughter are friends of ours! You will stay here free of cost!" Ignoring the Captain's incredulous look and the cheers of the crew, he put an arm around Kirk and said, "Come in, please come in! The rooms are ready and waiting to be filled with warm bodies!"

The translucent glass doors in front of them slid open to reveal a stunning lobby. A long mahogany colored desk housed several computers, each with a well dressed Sirian behind it. Their boots clicked against the marble floor as they walked up to the desk. Glass panels lining the wide path to the desk revealed water rushing behind them, leading to the fountain outside. The ceiling above them sparkled and shined with many round, luminous bulbs. The walls were a stark white with a light grey leaf print over it. To either side of the check in desk, ivory staircases lined with red velvet carpeting led to the second floor, where the crew saw a lounging area, a dining area, and elevators leading to the floors above.

It was fortunate that the hotel was immaculately clean and bug free, because had there been any flying insects, they would have had over 400 mouths to fly into. Even Spock stared in awe at the fantastic sight before them. Staravinius bemused the awe-stricken group and said to his employees, "Please give our guests their room keys gentlemen. I'm afraid they're a little too distracted to request them on their own."

Chuckling, the receptionists looked the crew members up one by one and began calling their names as they pulled out their room keys. Slowly the crew made their way upstairs and entered the elevators. Many found themselves intrigued by the bar, but every one of them chose to check their room out before partaking of any local beverages.

Even the elevator ride was amazing. The luminous orbs on the ceiling were also on the roof of the elevators. The walls were made of a reflective metal; the elevators closest to the back wall had a transparent wall that allowed those inside to enjoy the incredible view outside. The massive hotel had blocked the view of the ocean behind it, which the crew now marveled at as they ascended. Blue green waves crashed on clean white sand dotted with various tourists; in the distance, boats sailed on the rocky waters.

Kirk and Spock stood side by side in the elevator closest to the back wall and managed to enjoy the sight of the beach as eighteen other bodies crushed against them. Through their mind link, they spoke:

_Wow, this place is even more beautiful than I thought._

_You picked an excellent place for our anniversary Jim._

Kirk laughed outwardly. _As much as I'd like to take full credit for it, I have to thank Nurse Chapel for telling me about it. If she hadn't mentioned it, we'd never even be here._

Spock extended his index and middle fingers toward Kirk's hand and caressed his fingers. Kirk felt the flow of love from Spock's fingers and met them with his own. His eyes were still staring outside of the elevator, but he was still able to see the smile on Spock's face. _Perhaps I will also give her my thanks._

People disappeared from the elevator as it reached their designated floors. Soon only Kirk and Spock stood on the elevator, patiently waiting for their floor, which turned out to be the top most. The elevator slowed to a stop and opened to reveal a wide hallway with red and gold carpet. The cream colored walls stretched on, interrupted sporadically by hotel rooms. From what they saw of the other floors, there were a significantly greater number of doors than on this one.

When they exited the elevator, they saw their room number directly across from them. Kirk pulled the room key out of his pocket and placed it into the key slot. Lights at the top of the slot quickly flickered red, yellow, and then green. When the validity of the key was verified, all of the lights flashed green in unison. A panel at the very top of the doorway glowed blue and then panned a message across it. A soothing mechanical woman's voice spoke the words that were displayed on the panel: _Welcome to the Nayvolo Hotel's presidential suite Captain Kirk and Commander Spock._

The door slid open and revealed a room that made even Kirk's quarters back on the Enterprise look like a closet in comparison. The space before them had the feel of a small house rather than a hotel room. To the right of the room was a living space that led into a massive bedroom with a queen sized bed and a bathroom with large, luxurious bathtub. Straight ahead of them was a spacious kitchen better suited for entertaining a large group rather than cooking food for two men. To the left was a dining space with a beautiful wood table and matching dining chairs.

Though there were lamps and such strategically placed throughout the room and a crystal chandelier over the dining table, but not a single one of them emitted light. All light came from the large glass wall facing the beach that doubled as a window. Kirk dropped his bag and rushed over to look at the view of the beach. A door slid open as he approached the area that led to the balcony. He was greeted by warm salty air that wrapped around him like a blanket. Gripping onto the cast iron railing, he stared in awe at the sight before him. When he felt Spock's hand gently touch the small of his back, he jumped and blushed sheepishly. Spock gave a knowing smirk and took in the view with his life mate.

The beach and ocean were beautiful enough, but when he looked at Kirk's face, he found the sight more breathtaking than the landscape before him. Kirk's eyes were a deeper blue than the ocean itself, the sun itself shone from his smile, and his hair was a richer sandy color than the white sands below. The kiss he placed on Kirk's tanned cheek snapped Kirk out of his trance. The blue eyes that had stared out of the window shifted their gaze to meet with Spock's and the sunshine smile illuminated his face.

Snapping himself of his own trance, Spock said, "I understand your amazement with the view, but perhaps we should begin making our plans for the day. While I am not averted to spending some time peacefully lounging about, we will have an entire week to enjoy the scenery."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Kirk said, grinning awkwardly. "Sorry, it's just been a really long time since I've been able to just take the time to just stare in wonder."

Kirk and Spock walked back inside the hotel room and grabbed their bags. Ever the curious one, Kirk opted against going straight to the bedroom with his bag and instead examined the large black flat panel that was mounted on the crème colored living room wall. As if the panel sensed his interest, it sprang to life, showing a raven furred Sirian woman. She wore a white business suit and stood with her hands clasped in front of her. Smiling, she said, "Welcome to the Nayvolo Hotel, Captain Kirk and Commander Spock. I understand that this is your first time visiting Ninolgog City. I am Ceridian and I will be your guide for the duration of your stay here. Since you are celebrating your anniversary today, may I suggest some attractions that would make for an enjoyable day together?"

Kirk and Spock stared at each other, amazed at Ceridian's artificial intelligence. It seems like technology on Kalthoria was incredibly advanced, even if it was solely for entertainment purposes. Making eye contact with the woman, Spock said, "Yes, we would like it very much if you could look for something that both of us could enjoy together."

Ceridian nodded. "One moment please." She closed her eyes briefly then said, "The Milanato Orchestra Group is playing at the Senaria Concert Hall in an hour and a half. Would you like me to make reservations for two?"

Before Kirk could say anything, Spock said, "Yes, if you would please." Kirk stared at Spock with his mouth open as Ceridian said, "Excellent. If you would draw your attention to the coffee table, you will see that there is a bracelet that one of you can wear. The directions to the concert hall, as well as attractions along the way and around it, can be viewed there."

On cue, the panel on the bracelet glowed brightly to catch their attention. Spock picked up the bracelet and placed it on his wrist. "If you have any questions, just call for me while you are wearing that. Enjoy!" Just as quickly as she had appeared on the panel, she disappeared.

Kirk crossed his arms irritably and asked, "Okay, two things. One, why the hell do _you _get to wear the bracelet? And two, how do you know that I'm going to enjoy this concert? I'm not exactly big on classical music and you didn't even bother to see if I was interested."

"To answer your first question," Spock began. "As a Vulcan science officer, I am much more attuned to the usage of foreign technology and will be the quicker of us two to learn how to use it. To answer your second question," he gave a smirk, "call it 'a gut feeling'." Smiling at Kirk, who was rolling his eyes, he said, "It would be advisable if we changed into something different for the concert. I am glad that I also chose a more formal outfit out of the clothes I borrowed from Mr. Sulu."

"What's wrong with our Starfleet uniforms?" Kirk asked, somewhat annoyed. "You don't think these are formal enough for some fancy concert?"

Spock leaned forward and kissed Kirk softly on the lips. The annoyed look on Kirk's face faded somewhat, but still lingered. "This is our first official outing as a couple; in addition, it is our first year anniversary as betrothed, _and_ we are on vacation. Surely you don't want to spend it wearing the same uniform we wear on a daily basis?"

Sighing in defeat, Kirk picked up his bag and said, "Fine, but if this concert isn't the best damn thing I've ever experienced, I'm going to box those sensitive Vulcan ears of yours." Giving a light chuckle, Spock followed Kirk into the bedroom to unpack their clothes and get dressed.


	7. It's a Date!

**Ch 6: It's a Date!**

The hotel and the beach had only been a small taste of Ninolgog City's beauty. The cobblestone streets were lined with tall tropical trees that showered flower petals on the pedestrians. Ninolgog City had the sleek, modern look of a technologically advanced metropolis, but had the quaint charm and familiarity of a small village. The sun shined high in the deep blue sky, occasionally blocked out by a passing white cloud. Many of the Enterprise's crew had to remind themselves that they were on a far away planet and not on Earth.

People lining the streets stopped in their tracks as they saw Kirk and Spock walking by. They marveled at the handsome young captain, clad in a gray and black vertically striped shirt, black belted slacks, and shiny black dress shoes, but more captivating was the sight of the Vulcan next to him. His outfit was less stylish than his companion, but given the fact that Vulcans typically didn't wear long sleeved sky blue shirts, khaki pants, and dark brown dress shoes.

The tips of Spock's ears turned green from the many bystanders that gawked at him. In a low voice, he said, "It is rather unnerving to have so many people looking at me."

Kirk laughed and placed a hand on Spock's shoulder. "They're looking at you because of how sexy you look! Vulcans spend so much time in those frumpy looking robes that no one ever gets to see what your body actually looks like." Speaking through their mind link, he added: _I'm probably the only one lucky enough to have seen how beautiful your body is when you're not wearing __**anything**__…_

The green tint spread from the tips of Spock's ears down to the bottom of his ears and across his face. Kirk leaned over and gave Spock a peck on the cheek as they walked, making the rest of Spock's face turn bright green. If they had been on Earth, someone might have mistaken his face for a traffic light. He placed the tips of his index and middle fingers against Spock's hand and let his love and adoration flow through their touch. The reciprocating flow he received from Spock made his own cheeks turn a light pink color.

Spock looked down at the bracelet on his wrist and said, "We are approximately 200 meters away from the concert hall with thirty-nine minutes to spare before the concert begins. We are making good time."

Just as he said this, Kirk's stomach grumbled. They stopped walking and looked at each other. Kirk's face now a bright pink. Chuckling awkwardly, he said, "I guess I shouldn't have skipped out on lunch…"

Sighing, Spock looked at his bracelet and looked up what restaurants were nearby that they could quickly get something to eat and then leave again. "There is a café 47 degrees and 30 meters away from where we are currently located. They serve something similar to the French originated Earth food 'crepes'. Average serving time for two people is four point eight minutes. If you desire, we can-"

Before Spock could finish his evaluation of the restaurant, Kirk was pulling him by his arm toward it. As long as the food didn't have something moving or vaguely insect like inside of it, he was willing to try it. The door to the restaurant slid open as they approached the entrance. The smell of fresh fruit and cream welcomed them before the Sirian woman behind the counter had even opened her mouth. She smiled at the dreamy look on their face and said, "Greetings and welcome customers! Have you come to try our delicious pastries?"

"Indeed we have," Spock said, looking at the large digital menu behind her. Kirk decided to look down at the golden brown diamond-shaped pastries that sat in the clear display cases. Most of the pastries were filled with fruit and cream, but some were filled with meats and cheeses. Spotting a pastry filled with what looked similar to blueberries, Kirk excitedly pointed and said, "Can I have that one?"

"Of course you can sir!" The woman knelt down and slid open the display case door. Grabbing a sheet of thin, crinkly paper, she picked the pastry up and wrapped it up. She stood and handed the warm pastry to Kirk, saying, "There you are sir!" Turning to Spock, who was still examining the menu, she asked, "Is there anything you would like sir?"

After thinking for a moment longer, Spock said, "I would like a 'Sirian Fruit' pastry, one of the smaller ones please." Giving a happy nod, the woman took another sheet of paper and grabbed a small pastry with golden fruit inside. Standing back up and handing the pastry over to Spock, she said, "Will that be all?"

"Yes," Kirk said. Kirk pulled out the key card to their room from his pocket. The key card doubled as a sort of debit card that recorded expenses accrued from the various attractions in the city and deduced them from a preset amount allocated by Starfleet for shore leaves. Starfleet tended to allocate a greater amount when officers visited Kalthoria since it was the most popular of all the pleasure planets, so there was very little worry that anyone would come close to their limit, let alone go over it.

After entering Kirk's and Spock's order onto the screen before her, the woman took the card and swiped it. A beep accompanied a green light at the top of the screen and the woman handed the card back to Kirk. "There you go sir!" she said, the smile ever present on her face. "Do enjoy the rest of your day! We hope to see you both again!"

Nodding and waving goodbye, they took their pastries and left the café. Kirk took a bite of his pastry first, anxious to try it. Though the fruit inside of it looked like blueberries, they tasted more like blackberries. He was slightly disappointed that the flavor wasn't what he expected, but still thoroughly enjoyed the taste of the flaky pastry. Kirk cut an eye at Spock to see how he was enjoying his pastry only to find that Spock had stopped walking several paces ago. He stared down at his pastry with wide eyes and slightly opened mouth.

Kirk rushed to his side, afraid that perhaps Spock may unexpectedly be having an allergic reaction to the fruit. With his free hand, he grabbed Spock's shoulder and shook gently, craning his neck to get a better look at his face. "Spock!" he said, speaking loudly but not quite yelling. "Spock, are you okay?"

Jolted by the sound of Kirk's voice, Spock raised his head and stared with wide eyes. "I am sorry," he said, snapping out of his daze. "I was just completely taken aback by the flavor of this pastry. Its flavor is creating a sensation on my tongue that I am having trouble comprehending."

Intrigued, Kirk took a bite of Spock's pastry. His eyes doubled in size; there wasn't a single thing he could compare the flavor to. It was sweet, but intensely or overwhelmingly sweet, just tangy enough to excite his taste buds, and had a spicy undertone reminiscent of cinnamon. A million different flavors sprang to mind as he chewed the mind blowing pastry, but none seemed accurate enough to fully compare it to.

A breathless "Wow," was all Kirk could manage to say about the pastry. Spock nodded in agreement. "Now you see why I paused. It is a most intriguing fruit, this Sirian Fruit. It is unfortunate that it does not have a more unique name to compliment its flavor."

"Yeah," Kirk said, looking down at his pastry. He was suddenly rather unimpressed with his choice of pastry, but took another bite anyway. To his amazement, the flavor of the pastry had intensified, becoming sweeter and more complex than it was before. Spock noticed the look on Kirk's face and inquired, "Is there something wrong with your pastry Jim?"

"No," Kirk said, "not at all. If anything, it's…amazing. When I first took a bit of it, it tasted alright, but it was nothing spectacular. When I took a bite just now though, the flavor improved exponentially. Here, take a bite and see for yourself."

Spock took a tentative bite of the pastry Kirk held in his hand. His eyebrows shot upward as the flavor danced on his tongue. "Fascinating," he said. "It seems that the Sirian Fruit has an ability to bring out the latent flavors within this fruit. Did you see the name of this pastry?"

"Yeah, it was called the 'Enig berry' pastry." Kirk pointed to the bracelet on Spock's wrist and said, "Maybe you should ask Ceridian about Sirian Fruit and Enig berries."

Responding to the sound of her name, Ceridian's face appeared on the bracelet's panel. "You are inquiring about the Sirian Fruit and the Enig berry?"

"Yes," said Spock, looking down at his wrist. "What can you tell us?"

Ceridian closed her eyes as she processed the request then opened again when she had her answer. "The Sirian Fruit is oblong golden colored fruit that was grown here when the Sirians first colonized this planet. The Enig berry is an indigenous berry that grows on most shrubs. It is a very common berry with an equally common flavor of average sweetness. The Sirian Fruit in comparison has a far more interesting flavor, but when the two fruits are eaten together, the chemical composition of the Enig berry is altered in such a way that its natural flavors are intensified by almost an immeasurable magnitude. Though the two fruits come from two different worlds and under normal circumstances, they compliment each other, one bringing out the others full potential."

Kirk and Spock looked at each other and shared a smile. "Well," Kirk said, "looks like we couldn't have picked a better combination of pastries if we had tried."

Spock opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Ceridian, who said, "The concert begins in twenty-five minutes. It is advised that you both head to the concert hall immediately to ensure that you are able to be seated and wait comfortably without being rushed."

"She is right," Spock added. "We should continue making our way to the concert hall."

Smiling, Kirk nodded. "Yeah, we should get going. We can enjoy our pastries on the way there."

The walk to the concert hall from the café took only ten minutes, leaving another fifteen minutes for them to be seated and enjoy the cool air conditioning of the concert hall. The Sirian at the box office scanned their card and handed them their tickets. They threw away the wrappers of their now devoured pastries before meeting another Sirian at the door and being led to their seats.

The seats descended downward and met the stage, which sat in the very center of the concert hall. A long black curtain reached from the ceiling all the way down to the stage, hiding the performers from the audience's view. Because most of the seats were already filled, Kirk and Spock had to step past people to reach their seats. Settling into the soft crimson chairs, they waited patiently for the concert to begin.

The lights above them all turned off, save a few blue lights that set the mood. A bright light shone behind the black curtain that slowly rose to reveal the Milanato Orchestral Group sitting three rows deep in a circle along the edge of the stage. The source of the light was a tall tube in the center of the stage that had a red ball hovering in the center of it.

When the curtain had risen all the way up to the ceiling, a wall of sound came from the stage. The red ball in the center bounced up and down, providing the performers with a reference for the song's tempo. The tempo was fast and intense, causing Kirk to actually grip onto his seat. What happened next however made him release the arm rests and lean forward in wonder.

The light from within the tube changed from a solid white to varying colors of the rainbow. Instead of shining upward in a beam, it began to take form and stretched out into the audience. Colorful ribbons of light swooped downward and floated over and around the audience, occasionally interacting with the denizens as they watched in awe.

Kirk looked over at Spock to see how he was reacting to the spectacle before them and was surprised to see that he was already looking back at him, a smug smile on his face. Spock didn't need to say anything, not verbally or through their mind link; his face said it all. Spock had known exactly what kind of performance to expect from the Milanato Orchestral Group, which was why he had so enthusiastically chosen to see the concert. Kirk smirked back at him and reached out for Spock's hand. Their fingers intertwined and remained so for the duration of the concert.

Two hours passed by faster than they ever had in Kirk's life. Every minute of the concert had been a thrill ride that never got boring, not even once. It wasn't just the light show that had kept Kirk interested either; the music had moved him in a way that classical music typically didn't. At one point in the concert, a sad song had shaken him emotional to the point of tears. He didn't try to stop the tears either, not to save face or to keep from looking weak. He let the tears flow freely and didn't wipe a single one away. For the first time in his life, he was unashamed to cry openly in public. When he looked at Spock, he saw tears falling from his face as well. Whether they fell because they shared feelings through their link or because Spock was also moved by the music didn't matter; it was a touching moment that they happily shared.

When they left the concert hall, the sun had sunk surprisingly low in the sky, even though it was only three in the afternoon. Eye brow raised in curiosity, Spock looked at his bracelet and asked, "Ceridian, what is the reason for the sun to be setting so early in the day?"

Ceridian's raven face appeared once more on Spock's bracelet. Smiling, she said, "During this time on the planet Kalithoria, the sun begins setting very early and takes hours to fully set. The current time is 15:03 hours Starfleet Regulated Time; nighttime will fall around 20:00 hours. Thus, you have five hours to enjoy the setting sun. This time of the year is considered to be the 'summer' of planet Kalthoria. During the winter, there is only three hours of actual day time and seven hours of nighttime; the rest of the time the sun is either rising or setting."

Spock looked at Kirk, sharing a look of amazement with him. Ceridian continued, "With the completion of your concert, you now have the option of dining at a restaurant, finding another attraction, or returning to your hotel room. What would you like to do?"

"I'll be picking this one," Kirk said. "No offense Spock, but this is supposed to be my surprise for _you_. You did a great job of picking something we both liked, why not give me a chance to do that too?"

Nodding, Spock leaned closer so that Kirk could look closer at the panel on his bracelet. "Ceridian," he asked, "is there any restaurants nearby that mix fun with food?" Ceridian took a moment to process his request and said, "There is a restaurant named 'Labyrinth' 127 meters due north of your current location. It is known to test one's logic while providing a fun experience; it is also one of the highest ranking restaurants in Ninolgog City."

"Send the directions!" Kirk said excitedly. Ceridian's face disappeared and revealed a miniature map of their current location in the city, a blue line leading to the restaurant. Smiling, Kirk hooked Spock's arm with his and began walking in the direction of the restaurant.

After walking for a short time, they spotted a wall of tall green hedges to their right across the street. People walked in and out of a large black iron gate, a black sign reading "The Labyrinth" in elegant white letters confirming that was where Kirk and Spock needed to go. They crossed the street and walked through the opening in the hedges, admiring the high arching opening of the gate.

"Wow," Kirk said, placing his free hand on Spock's arm. "This has gotta be one hell of a restaurant."

No sooner than he said that did he disappear into thin air, a thin wisp of smoke the only indicator that he had been there at all. Spock whirled around, wondering where he had went. "_JIM!"_ he shouted, his calm demeanor now frantic and scared. "_JIM! Where are you?!?"_

He heard a sound behind him and spun around to see if Kirk was there, but instead saw a crouching, fur covered figure. When it raised its head, he saw yellow green cat eyes staring at him. The creature was similar in structure to the Sirians, but seemed to have evolved from felines rather than from canines. When it stood, he saw that the creature's body was slender and curved, indicating that it was a female. She wore a sleeveless blue halter shirt that was cut in such a way that her sides were bare and her stomach was barely covered in a V-shape. A yellow sash with red tassels was wrapped around her waist, less like a belt and more of a decoration for the matching blue mini skirt she wore. Her feet were clad in thigh high black leather boots that shined in the setting sun. Her fur was a reddish brown with dark brown stripes; her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in a tight french braid.

The creature smiled, showing white sharp teeth, and said, "You have lost your companion, yes?" Her sultry voice made Spock's ears twitch. At a loss for words, Spock merely nodded. The creature took a step forward and bowed deeply. "My name is Ma'Tique."

Swallowing, Spock replied, "My name is Spock. May I ask, has your race evolved from felines much like the Sirians evolved from canines?"

Standing up straight, Ma'Tique smiled again. "You are astute; this should be interesting. You are correct. I am a Felisian, born on the planet Felisia, which orbits around the Felis star. The Sirians are not the only ones who desire to make a living on this planet. We too have made our way to Kalthoria to provide services to tourists, though of a different type."

"As much as I'd like to give you the history of my people, I am not here for that purpose. I shall be your guide through the Labyrinth, but before we proceed, you must answer this riddle. 'What is everything to someone, but nothing to everyone else?' Choose your answer wisely, as you will only get one chance."

It didn't take long for Spock to answer the riddle. "The mind."

"Very good," Ma'Tique said. "I knew that a Vulcan would be quick to answer that riddle, but it seemed like a fitting warm up. Follow me."

The Felisian woman sauntered forward, but Spock didn't move forward. He was leery about this labyrinth, but it didn't seem like there was anything else he could do now that Kirk was gone. Ma'Tique turned around and beckoned Spock to follow. Taking a deep breath and sighing, Spock began what he hoped would be a quick journey to the center of the labyrinth.


	8. Dinner with a View

**Ch 7: Dinner with a View**

Spock and Ma'Tique slowly made their way through the hedge maze. The yellow orange light from the sun above made the leaves glisten and glow rather romantically. It was clear that while they looked like average hedges, there was something more to the plants than met Spock's eye. Marveling at the height of the hedges around him, he failed to notice that Ma'Tique had stopped before a hedge wall and bumped into her.

Blushing, he said, "My apologies. My attention was elsewhere."

Ma'Tique winked and said, "Don't worry, I tend to have that affect on males."

Before Spock could explain that he was fascinated with their surroundings and not her, a male Felisian dropped from the sky in front of them. He wore a green sleeveless shirt and matching flowing pants; the scarf around his waist the same color as Ma'Tique's. His fir was fire red with leopard spotting; around his eye was a particularly large spot. When he stood, he towered over both Spock and Ma'Tique, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest.

"You wish to pass to find your love, but he's not here, he's up above. Answer my riddle to carry on; you'll suffer my wrath if you answer me wrong."

Spock straightened himself in an effort to seem taller than he felt next to the massive Felisian. "I am ready."

The Felisian male sneered. "Until I am measured, I am not known, yet how you miss me when I have flown. What am I?"

Uncharacteristic as it was, Spock stifled a laugh at the simple riddle. Were these seriously supposed to be hard? Crossing his own arms in triumph, Spock answered with a small but noticeable smirk, "You are time."

The Felisian uncrossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the Vulcan, who was daring to show what looked like pride in his knowledge. Silently, he stepped aside and waved his arm, turning toward the hedge. The branches split apart and revealed the path behind the wall. The Felisian gave Spock a bow and said, "You may proceed, be on your way, but first I must make sure I say, should your wisdom ever fail, you'll be removed from this snaked trail. You'll lose your love; here he'll remain, so follow your heart and trust your brain."

Crouching, the Felisian jumped and flew high above the hedges, disappearing from sight. Though Spock gave the Felisians credit for the creativity in designing such an attraction, even he had to admit that their rhymes were a little contrived. Ma'Tique's forward movement caught his attention and he continued on his way.

The path was now significantly wider than it was before they reached the dead end. His attention was now drawn to the way the light colored the large white bricks beneath his feet. The bricks were somewhat luminous, and as he walked, he not only saw his shadow cast on them, but also the faintest hint of his reflection. Again, his attention had been shifted elsewhere for so long he bumped into Ma'Tique when she stopped at another dead end.

This time she turned around and crossed her arms playfully. "Come now Mr. Spock, surely you can't be distracted by my back end so much that you can't keep your eyes on where you're going?"

"I assure you, I was not…"

While Spock was able to get more out of his mouth this time, he was not fast enough to say that he had not been ogling Ma'Tique's back side before another Felisian showed up. This time the Felisian was a female that materialized before them, wearing the same outfit that Ma'Tique wore in pink instead of blue. Her fur was a pure snow white, her eyes almost as blue as Kirk's.

"Greetings," she said in a velvety voice. "You've made good progress, there is no doubt, but answer wrong and be shown out. Answer my question is what you must do, answer correctly and you may go through."

Spock closed his eyes to prevent the Felisian from seeing his eyes roll. He really could do without the weak rhymes, but he assumed this was part of the appeal. It was already obvious that the guide was to prevent him from getting lost and frustrated, but there was no challenge to the riddles they told. Then again, they were probably much harder for someone who couldn't think things logically like Vulcans could.

"I have freedom from hate, but not from lies. I'm usually seen through clouded eyes. I come unexpected, though you wait for me all your life. I can't be brought yet some people try. What am I?"

Delight glittered in Spock's eyes as he finally heard a riddle that made him really think. He covered his mouth with his hand and pondered. From what he could derive from the riddle, the answer wasn't a tangible object, much like the last two riddles. He then thought about how the riddles related to the activity and realized that the first riddle referred to the use of his logic to solve the riddles. The second riddle referred to the swift passage of time during his trek through the maze as well as throughout the day with Kirk.

The answer to the third riddle dawned on him in an instant. Of course, it was simple now that he applied the riddle not only to the attraction he participated in, but also to Kirk. He lowered his hand and in a near whisper said, "Love."

"Close," the woman said. "The correct answer is 'true love', but I can tell from the look on your face that the love you're referring to _is _true love." The branches behind her pulled away just as before, but revealed a much wider path. "Do not lose heart, you're nearly done, but the heart of your love has yet to be won. Your mind and your logic can be put to rest, but soon your strength will be put to the test."

The woman disappeared in the same cloud of smoke she appeared in, leaving the path clear. This time, Spock made sure to stand side by side with Ma'Tique to avoid bumping into her should he be distracted by the scenery again. She noticed this and chuckled to herself, making sure to stay just slightly ahead of him to guide him properly, however the path was now so open, there was hardly any guiding needed from her.

The center of the maze was easy enough to find. Tall white columns lined the circular space before them, a large ornamental pattern in its center. Another Felisian male clad in green stood waiting for their arrival, only this one looked almost exactly like Ma'Tique. The only difference in their fur was the coloring; Ma'Tique's fur was a reddish brown with dark brown stripes, while the male before them was a dark brown with reddish brown stripes. He grinned and laughed wildly as he saw Ma'Tique walk forward with Spock.

"I see you have a Vulcan with you sister," he said, legs shoulder width apart and his hands on his hips. "I hear Vulcans are known for their incredible strength despite their thin and wiry frames. I look forward to testing it!"

Ma'Tique sighed as Spock raised an eyebrow at the zealous Felisian before him. At least _he_ wasn't spouting juvenile rhymes at him. Motioning toward the large male, Ma'Tique said, "This oversized lunk head is my darling twin brother, Zek'Ail. He will be testing your strength in a bit of a sparring match. If you manage to overpower him, he will take you to your beloved. Fail, and…"

"…I will be removed from the premises without him, yes, I know," Spock said impatiently. He had grown tired of the game the Felisians were playing with him. He felt much like a mouse in their clutches and was anxious for something that could be a challenge to him. "If I may make one request, please be careful with these clothes. They do not belong to me and are expected to be returned in the same condition they were lent to me in."

Zek'Ail roared with laughter, his braided hair bouncing from side to side behind him. "You're a cocky one! Didn't expect a Vulcan to be so cocky! I don't know if I should be impressed or shocked!"

Spock carefully removed his shirt, folded it neatly, and handed it to Ma'Tique, who took the opportunity to admire his lean yet muscular torso. As he walked away, she purred at the sight of him; his backside was just as delicious as the front. Finally having a chance to check Spock out, Ma'Tique now understood how he had managed to become lovers with the handsome captain of his ship. Only one as striking as he could draw Kirk's gaze away from the many gorgeous women he encountered, both on their missions and amongst the crew. She brought his shirt to her nose and inhaled his scent. Even his scent was intoxicating. It was no wonder the human had fallen for the Vulcan; everything about him was irresistible.

Zek'Ail smiled at Spock as he came closer and stopped a few feet away. In a calm, monotone voice, Spock took a defensive stance and said, "You may attack when you are ready."

As soon as the words left his lips, the Felisian disappeared from in front of him and rematerialized behind him. With lightning fast reflexes, he whirled around and blocked the kick meant to hit him in his ribs. Clutching on to Zek'Ail's leg, he flipped the Felisian in the air. Zek'Ail landed squarely on his feet and crouched. He lunged forward with claws drawn, but passed by the Vulcan who had easily side-stepped him.

Landing on his hands, he somersaulted and disappeared again, reappearing right in front of Spock with arms raised and hands clasped. Before he could bring his fists down like a hammer on Spock's head, Spock raised his own arms and blocked the blow. They pressed against each other, both trying to overpower the other and create another opening for an attack. Spock's strength won out and Zek'Ail was pushed back, receiving a flat palmed shove to his chest.

Zek'Ail stumbled backwards and tried to recover, but Spock charged forward, shouldered him hard, and sent him skidding across the ground. Just as he moved to stand up, Ma'Tique put her hand down and said, "That's enough Zek'Ail. He has proved himself worthy enough to return to Captain Kirk."

The larger Felisian looked up at his sister, resting on his elbows. "Aw come on! We just got started! I was just about to start taking this seriously!"

"You know the rules Zeke," Ma'Tique said, using her brother's nickname. "When the customer is able to overpower their opponent, even if it is by accident or chance, they are to be escorted to the restaurant."

Zek'Ail pouted at his sister. He didn't like stopping a fight when his opponent actually proved to be somewhat of a challenge. When the opponent was some klutzy overweight fool or a weak opponent, he forced himself to feign defeat so they could enjoy their stay, but his thirst for combat was always fueled when a skilled fighter showed up, especially if they were Vulcan. They hid their swift reflexes and incredible strength under the thick veil of logic and composure, which made fighting Vulcans all the more exciting for Zek'Ail.

"But Tikiiiii…" Zek'Ail whined. "I never get to fight all out with this stupid job! Can't I spar with a Vulcan just once? Pleeeeease?"

A loud hiss from Ma'Tique silenced Zek'Ail's protests. His ears pressed against his head, which sank into his shoulders. Though they were twins, it was obvious which of the two was considered the elder. Zek'Ail had been blessed with strength by the cat goddess Bast, but was blessed with Ma'Tique instead of brains and self-control. What Ma'Tique said was final and he never did anything to fight it; this was one of many such occasions.

Smiling at the Vulcan who had been observing their exchange silently, she walked up to Spock and handed him his shirt. "Well done Spock. You have defeated Zek'Ail and have earned passage into our restaurant."

Spock took the shirt from Ma'Tique and bowed slightly before putting it back on. When he buttoned the last button on it, he saw the world around him begin to shimmer brightly. In a flash of white, Spock's view of the center of the maze transformed into a view of Ninolgog City as he found himself standing high above the hedge maze. His mouth dropped at the view that stretched on for miles in all directions. When he turned around, Ma'Tique led him to a table where he saw Kirk standing with a rose in his hand, smiling. Ma'Tique silently excused herself and allowed the lovers to converse.

"Happy anniversary Spock," he said, barely able to keep himself from flinging himself at the Vulcan. They had been apart for three hours and he had only the Felisians to keep him from being bored. He handed Spock the rose and kissed him on the cheek. "Was the maze fun?"

Spock took the rose from Kirk, his hand lingering briefly on Kirk's. Seating themselves at the table, Spock allowed himself a smile and said, "In a way, yes. There was no challenge to the riddles, and being led around instead of being allowed to make my own way through prevented me from using any skill to find my way to the center, but I was able to observe the beauty of the maze. I even participated in a light sparring match with a Felisian male, which could have been quite invigorating if we were allowed to continue. Sharing the view of Ninolgog City, the ocean, and the forest beyond the city limits with you is a fitting end to the trial and makes the entire thing well worth the trouble."

Kirk grinned, leaned forward, and kissed Spock lightly on the lips. Propping his head on his hand, he said, "I'm glad to hear it."

Two champagne flutes, one filled with champagne for Kirk and the other with water for Spock, appeared on their table, as well as a plate of filet mignon, green beans, and mashed potatoes for Kirk and a bountiful salad for Spock. Kirk raised his glass and waited for Spock to do the same. "Here's to our first year together as fiancés. May the rest of our life together be as happy as the last year and a half has been."

The two glasses clinked together and they both took a sip of their respective drinks. They then turned their attention to their dinners and engaged in typical dinner banter. Somewhere behind them a woman sneezed. Her companion, a heavy set man with a dark hair and a goatee handed her an extra napkin to blow her nose with. "Bless you," he said with a smirk. "You know Val, if I had known you'd spend half your time sneezing, we would have chosen a different restaurant."

Valerie blew her nose in the handkerchief Trevor Jennings handed to her. She gave a sniff and said, "It's not my fault this place is run by Felisians! Stupid cat allergy ruining my date…"

"You could always ask Doctor McCoy for an allergy hypospray. I heard he packed a whole suitcase full of assorted ones just in case."

"Ugh," Valerie said. "I finally finished all my treatments for my arthritis; I don't wanna get _another _hypospray for something different! Knowing him he'll set me up on another regimen of hyposprays to cure me of my allergies too. Lord knows how long I'll have to do that! Besides, I'm only exposed to cats while I'm here on vacation, so I'd only need something to get me through the week."

Jennings laughed and tapped Valerie on the nose. "Yes love, but what if we get a Felisian crew member? Are you gonna put one of the spacesuits on so you're not breathing in their dander?" Valerie flushed deeply and pouted. "Just go see McCoy when we get back and he'll take care of you."

"Yeah, yeah, alright…" Valerie grumbled. She looked at the table where Kirk and Spock sat and smiled. "Don't they look cute together?"

Jennings turned his head and looked at Kirk and Spock laughing together. He couldn't help but smile at how happy they looked. "Yeah, I guess they do. Thank God they're not at each other's throats like they were during our first missions together."

"God, I remember that. It's amazing that two people that hated each other so much when they first met turned out to be crazy in love for each other. At least they make a good pair, both on duty and off."

"That they do," Jennings said, sipping the Kalthorian iced tea from his cup. Back at their table, Spock's ears had picked up their entire conversation. He smiled sweetly at Kirk, who cocked his head to the side and said, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Chuckling, Spock said, "No, not at all. I just overheard some of our crew members talking about us."

Kirk's eyebrow rose as he turned in his seat to try and see who it was. "Do not worry," Spock said, placing a hand on Kirk that brought his attention back to him. "They only spoke good things about us. Our crew is surprisingly supportive of our union."

"As they should be," Kirk smirked. "Whatever keeps things running smooth on the ship should be good enough for everyone else."

"Indeed," Spock agreed.

The two finished their meal and rose from the table. They walked to the edge of the platform that housed the outdoor restaurant and stared at the city below them. Ma'Tique reappeared beside them and smiled. "I assume you both enjoyed your meal?"

Kirk nodded and said, "Yes, we did. It was quite delicious. Thank you and your brother Zek'Ail for guiding Spock to me. You helped make our anniversary a very special one."

Ma'Tique gave a low bow and replied, "You are most welcome. It was our pleasure to add our own unique flavor to your celebration. If you are ready to return to the Nayvolo Hotel, I can teleport you there. Or if you like, I can teleport you back to the maze and let you wander back through the maze together."

Spock and Kirk shared a look. Smiling, Spock turned back to Ma'Tique and said, "I would appreciate it greatly if we would be allowed to be teleported back down to the maze and travel back through it ourselves. Jim wasn't allowed to see the maze for himself, and I would find it a very pleasant experience exploring it with him."

The feline nodded. "As you wish. Enjoy the rest of your stay here in Ninolgog City. If fate allows, I hope we meet again."

"As do I," Spock said. Ma'Tique raised her arms and closed her eyes, concentrating on teleporting Kirk and Spock back to the center of the maze below them. The world around them shimmered once more and then they found themselves back in the maze. Zek'Ail smirked at them and nodded them toward the exiting path behind him.

Though it took them thirty minutes to exit the maze, Spock found that walking through with Kirk by his side made the experience much more pleasurable. Not only did he actually get to use his brain to figure out what turn to take to avoid a dead end, but he also was able to share the experience with Kirk, who seemed to love every minute of it. Finally exiting the maze, they made their way back to the hotel. The sky above them burned with the deep oranges, reds, pinks, and purples of the nearly completed sunset. Much of their day had been spent at the Labyrinth, but that was okay. Now they could relax together in their hotel and for the first time since their last shore leave, enjoy each other's company in complete solitude.


	9. Double Dates Are Exciting!

**Ch 8: Double Dates Are Exciting!**

McCoy sat on the leather couch in the living room of his suite, his feet propped up on the glass coffee table in front of him. He wore his favorite blue pajamas and a thick blue robe. In his hand was a stout glass filled halfway with Sirian bourbon; in his lap was an empty plate that used to hold two biscuit halves covered in sausage gravy. He sipped the drink slowly, savoring every small explosion of flavor on his tongue. He had almost laughed when he heard that Sirian bourbon was carbonated, but now that he drank it he wondered how he had ever doubted it. It had a very subtle sweetness to it, a sweetness that in any other liquor would have ruined its flavor.

He closed his eyes and smiled at the peace and quiet of his morning. Scotty had been kind enough to leave him be on their second day after dragging him all over the damned city to explore. McCoy couldn't deny that he enjoyed spending time with the Scotsman, but his enthusiasm and energy surpassed even Kirk's. When they finally came home late last night he could barely stand. How could Scotty be so close in age to him but so damned youthful?

The quiet of his morning was cut short by the door slamming open and Scotty tumbling into the room. Mid-sip, McCoy spluttered the bourbon he was drinking back into his glass and gaped at the flustered Scotsman.

"Are you out of your damned mind? What's the big idea bursting into the room like that?"

Scotty's eyes were so wide they threatened to fall out of their sockets. He wore a red flannel button down shirt and jeans that were now incredibly wrinkled, no doubt from his frantic flight back to his room. He had only been gone an hour before he returned, and no doubt it was an emergency.

"Leonard!" he said, his voice conveying the severity of the matter. "Ah need ya ta go on a date wit' meh!"

McCoy didn't respond right away when he heard this. After staring at Scotty for what seemed like an eternity, he said, "You wanna rephrase that?"

Scotty screwed up his face in confusion, unsure of why he would need to rephrase what he had said when it hit him how it sounded. "Oh God! No, not like that! Ah went down ta have breakfast with Uhura an' her friends, and ah asked if she'd be interested in doing somethin' later on today. She says, 'Are you askin' me on a date?', an' ah said 'Aye!', an' then she said, 'Okay, but bring another couple along so things don' get awkward."

McCoy tried his best not to laugh at Scotty's attempt at imitating Uhura, but snickered in the process. Clearing his throat, he put his plate and his drink on the coffee table to give himself a chance to compose himself. Repositioning himself on the couch so that he faced Scotty, McCoy asked, "Okay, so basically you've landed a date with Uhura, but only because she wants it to be a double date in case it doesn't go well between you two?" Scotty nodded. "Alright, if that's the case, why are you asking me? Why not ask Kirk and Spock? I'm sure they'd love the chance to go on a double date."

"Are ye daft, man?!? Have ye forgotten that Spock is Uhura's ex an' that Kirk stole him away from her?!? Ah'm trying ta avoid an awkward date, not create one!"

McCoy sighed in annoyance. "Okaaay, what about Sulu and Eliza?"

Scotty shook his head. "That wouldn' work either. They're spending time with Chekov today. Besides, Eliza's half Orion; every time she's around ah stare at her, even though ah don' mean ta! That won' look good now will it?"

McCoy grumbled. "What about Valerie and Jennings? Valerie's friends with Uhura, so that wouldn't be awkward at all."

"Ah thought about that," Scotty said, "but when ah asked, they said they already made plans fer tha day." Scotty got on his knees and clutched onto the end of the couch. "C'mon Leonard. Yer tha only guy ah've got left ta ask that ah could go on a double date with an' be comfortable! Ye gotta help me!"

Crossing his arms, McCoy asked, "And who do you suppose I go on this double date with? I don't have a girlfriend."

"Ye could ask Christine," Scotty suggested with a smile. "Ah'm sure she'd be more than happy to accompany ye on a double date, even if it's only as a favor ta me."

McCoy's eyes looked almost as big as the plate he had just eaten his breakfast off of. "You want me to ask Christine on a date?!? Christine Chapel?!?"

"Well yah," Scotty said as if it were the most logical conclusion in the world. "Who else could ya ask? She's tha only lassie interested in yer grumpy ol' self. If she can work with ya in tha sick bay without goin' batty, ah'm sure she could be in yer company fer a few hours."

"Not just no, but hell no," McCoy said, rising from the couch and walking to the bedroom.

Scotty quickly rose from the couch and followed McCoy. "Ah c'mon Leonard. Ah don' have anyone else ah kin ask!"

"No means no Scotty!" McCoy said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

Scotty sighed in frustration as the door slammed in his face. He put his hands on his head, unsure of what to do to get McCoy to go along with him on his date. "Leonard, please, ah need ye ta come with me! Ye'd be doin' me a huuuuuge favor. Ah swear ah'll never ask anything like this from ye again!" Silence. Scotty thought for a moment and then came up with an idea. "Hey Leonard, ya know that Sirian bourbon ye like so much? Tha kind that's hard ta get anywhere other than Kalthoria an' is reeeeeally expensive unless ye order it from room service? If ye come with me on this date, ah know someone who could get it fer me fer really cheap in laaaarge quantities!"

The door opened and revealed a torn looking McCoy. "How large is 'large'?"

Scotty grinned. "Four bottles full. One bottle of Sirian bourbon has a gallon o' liquor in it. And ah'll treat ye ta a night of drinkin' at any bar ye want while we're here. So how about it Leonard?"

McCoy took a moment to think and then said, "Do I have to dress up?"

* * *

Chapel was humming along to a song that played in her head as she sat at the dining room table. A plate of bacon and scrambled eggs sat half eaten in front of her as she read a soft-covered copy of "Pride and Prejudice". A soft hand absently groped for a piece of bacon and brought to her mouth. She took a bite and chewed it without drawing her attention away from the book. Pride and Prejudice was her favorite book, as the spine and cover of the book indicated by its tattered and worn appearance. She had been longing to re-read it for the umpteenth time, but things on the Enterprise had been so busy, she hadn't gotten a chance until now. Her roommate Yasmina thought it was stupid of her to read when she was in a beautiful city on shore leave but she didn't care. The point of shore leave was to relax, and for her, sitting down with a good book was very relaxing.

Her peaceful reading was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. _Who could that be? _She thought to herself. It couldn't be Yasmina; she took her key card with her when she left earlier. Chapel picked up her bookmark, placed it snugly between the pages, and closed her book. Another sharp knock at the door made her stand quickly and rush to the door. Whoever it was, they were certainly impatient.

She pressed her hand on the panel beside the door and it swooshed open. To her surprise, Leonard McCoy stood before her with a very pink face. She smiled immediately; she had no idea why he was there, but seeing his face so early in the morning bode well. Then she realized that she was in a light pink spaghetti strap and very short shorts. Her face turned a brighter pink than McCoy's as she hid herself behind the wall and peeked out at him.

"Uh, hi! Leona-er, Doctor..."

"Please, call me Leonard," McCoy said, putting his hand up. "We're off duty and on shore leave. You don't have to refer to me as anything formal. Not Doctor, not McCoy, just...Leonard."

Chapel couldn't help but beam when she heard McCoy give her permission to refer to her casually. Seeing her smile made McCoy turn a few shades pinker. He turned and looked at Scotty doubtfully, but got an enthusiastic double thumbs up. Looking at Chapel again, he said, "Listen, Chapel, I mean..." he squeezed his eyes shut as he fell into the old habit of calling her by her last name. He took a deep breath and corrected himself, "Christine..." Her eyes widened at the sound of McCoy calling her by her first name. "Look, Scotty and Uhura are going out on a date tonight, but they want another couple to go with them. He's asked me if I can go and..."

McCoy began to lose his nerve. It had been years since he asked a girl out on a date and he was quickly remembering how difficult it was. Chapel waited with bated breath for him to say what she knew he was about to say. "Uh..." McCoy fumbled nervously. It was cute to see him so flustered over asking her on a date, but she wished he would just spit it out. "If you're not busy...would you be my date tonight?"

"YES," Chapel blurted out before she could catch herself. She slapped her hand over her mouth, wondering how she had let herself answer like that. In her mind, she had always imagined her answer being elegant and delicate, but in reality, she had almost shouted her answer. Out of her line of sight, Scotty was covering his face to keep from laughing out loud. Chapel and McCoy looked at each other in mutual shock, their faces competing to see which could turn a brighter red.

In a small voice, she said, "Yes...I'd like that very much. I don't have any plans and was hoping I could find something to do..."

McCoy allowed himself a small smile. "That's good. I mean, not that you had nothing to do, but that you'll be able to come with me on the date. You know, so Scotty and Uhura will have someone to go with too. Uhura's insisting on a double date and I don't wanna leave him hanging..."

"Right, of course," Chapel said with a radiant smile. McCoy could say the only reason he asked her was because every other woman in the hotel had said no and she'd still be happy to go on a date with him. "You're a good friend to help him out."

McCoy hoped that Chapel couldn't hear his heart beating in his chest as well as he could. He gave her an awkward smile and said, "Well, I don't want to keep you, we're going to be leaving around 13:00, so I should give you time to uh, get ready."

Chapel finally became conscious enough of herself to realize that she was no longer hiding behind the wall and was standing in the doorway, giving McCoy a clear view of her lack of apparel. She gave a gasp and hid back behind the door, sheepishly saying, "Sorry! Right, uh well, I guess I'll go get ready!"

"Yeah, uh, meet us in front of the hotel ten minutes before 13:00, okay?"

"Yeah, sure! Bye!"

McCoy gave a wave and walked away from the door, which quickly shut. Scotty ran over to him and clapped him on the back. "Look at ye! Ye did it! Ye asked her out!"

Laughing, McCoy said, "Yes, I did. Now you'll get your date with Uhura. But this is the only time I'm doing this for you! From now on if she wants a double date, you get someone else to go with you, ya get me?"

"Yes, yes, I know!" Scotty said with a wide grin. "Now come on! Let's get ready!"

* * *

Scotty and McCoy waited nervously in the hotel lobby, McCoy pacing back and forth past Scotty. McCoy wore his favorite leather coat, less because he was cold and more for self-confidence. He had owned the jacket for years and felt more comfortable in it than in his own skin. Besides the jacket he wore a white button down shirt, blue jeans, and a comfortable pair of boots. Scotty also wore a white shirt as well as a black vest and charcoal grey slacks.

Sighing, Scotty said, "Fer cryin' out loud McCoy, how long are ya gonna pace like that?"

"Excuse me for being a little nervous!" McCoy snapped, still pacing. "The last person I asked out on a date was my ex-wife and that was years ago! Forgive me for being a little ill at ease!"

"You'll be fine! Just relax and-"

The sight above him halted his words in his throat. His mouth hung open as he saw both Uhura and Chapel descend the stairs like angels flowing clouds. McCoy stopped pacing when he saw what Scotty saw and mirrored his expression.

Uhura was stunning as always wearing hoop earrings, a purple off-the-shoulder dress with a large silver belt and her favorite knee-high boots. The real sight was Chapel. She wore a teal sundress and a white cardigan with matching heels. She styled her hair in such a way that her golden hair gently framed her face, a small teal barrette clipped near the part.

Both of the women smiled at their respective dates once they reached the bottom of the stairs. Uhura was the first to speak. "Look at them Christine. By the way you look at us you'd think they've never seen women before in their entire life!"

"Aye, no," Scotty said as he shook his head. "Not women as fine as you two."

Uhura simply giggled her response and shot Scotty a flirtatious wink while Chapel bowed her head and blushed. Uhura was used to such comments, but it was clear that Chapel, despite her beauty, was not. McCoy stood rooted to the spot, still staring in awe at Chapel. She raised her eyes coyly at him and smiled sweetly. All McCoy could manage of his face was an awkward upward twitching of his mouth. Scotty looked at his lovestruck friend and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Jesus Leonard! Ye're actin' like ye've never seen Chapel before!"

"I…I haven't," McCoy stuttered, shaking his head. "Not like this anyway…"

Chapel's blush deepened. Shyly, she said, "I have to say, you look good as well, Leonard."

Now McCoy's face turned color. In a low voice, he said, "Thanks…"

Scotty and Uhura's eyes glanced between Chapel and Leonard. Clearing his throat, Scotty said, "Alright, now that we've established that everyone looks good, why don't we get ta tha café now, eh?"

He extended his arm toward Uhura, who happily placed hers upon it. Following Scotty's lead, McCoy offered his arm to Chapel. She took a moment to just stare at it and then smiled at McCoy. She gently hooked her arm around it and clutched onto it. Her closeness allowed McCoy to inhale her flowery perfume. It was lightly applied and wafted up to him every so often. Images of walking hand and hand with Chapel in a beautiful field of flowers in the countryside played before McCoy's eyes before he could stop them. Shaking his head, he banished such thoughts from his mind.

The two couples walked out of the hotel and down the cobblestone road to the right. They didn't walk very far before they saw what looked like a French bistro with white flags blowing gently in the ocean breeze. When they came to the entrance, they saw a sign that read "The Chateau". Groups of people sat outside in bronze chairs around tables covered in smooth white tablecloths. Spotting an available table, they sat down together and waited for someone to come and serve them.

A tall, lean Sirian male in a white button down shirt and black dress pants came to the table just as they settled into their seats. His fur was a familiar golden color that faded to white around his wrists. He smiled at his guests and handed them menus. He then said, "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen! My name is Jariden and I'll be your server today. What can I get for you?"

Uhura scrunched her face up as she recognized the name. "Jariden…wait a minute…aren't you Astinder's older brother?"

Jariden's formal smile took on a more excited look at the sound of his baby sister's name. "Yes! Yes I am! You know Tindy?"

Uhura smirked at the sound of Astinder's pet name and said, "Yeah, she works on the same ship as me. We're all crew members of the Enterprise."

"Oh splendid!" Jariden said. "Please, pick anything from the menu you want! Friends of Astinder are friends of the Nayvolo family!"

The group smiled at each other and began pouring over the menu. Scotty spoke up first. "Can we get a bottle of yer finest wine? Ooh, and can I try the Nayvolo Club Sandwich?"

Jariden nodded as he took the menu Scotty closed and handed to him. "Of course sir! I'll bring our personally made wine and four glasses! For the ladies?"

Uhura closed her menu and smiled sweetly at Jariden. "I'll have the Licarel salad and a glass of water in addition to the wine."

Chapel closed her menu as well and said, "I'll have the same please."

Jariden gave a respective nod to both Uhura and Chapel as he took their menus. He then looked at McCoy, who seemed to be at a complete lost for what to order. After months of getting exactly what he wanted from the ship's replicator, he could tell what it was he wanted. Sensing McCoy's difficult, Jariden spoke up. "Sir, may I suggest today's special? It's a toasted sandwich filled with savory roasted meat marinated in a brown gravy, served with roasted Dodekan roots."

McCoy's eyebrow arched high on his forehead when he heard the name of the sandwich's side dish. Skepticism thick in his voice, he asked, "What're Dodekan roots?"

A reassuring smile appeared on Jariden's pointed face. "They're similar to Earth potatoes, only much softer and creamier in texture. Many of our Starfleet customers rave about them after they've tried them, so I'm sure you'd enjoy them."

Handing the menu back to Jariden and said, "Yeah alright, I guess I'll have that."

Smiling wider, Jariden took the last of the menus and bowed to his customers before leaving to put their orders in. He returned swiftly with a bottle of wine and four glasses for each of them. Popping the cork carefully so as not to send it flying, he poured a moderate amount for the women and a rather hefty amount for the men before leaving again. They all took a sip of the white wine and found themselves pleasantly surprised. The wine was delightfully sweet and light, tingling on the way down as if it were champagne and leaving a pleasant lingering warmth in their chests.

"Wow," Chapel said, covering her mouth with her hand, her fingernails painted the same color as her outfit. "That's amazing."

"He wasn't fooling around when he picked this wine," Uhura said with a smile. "What does the label say Scotty?"

Scotty picked up the bottle that Jariden had left behind and read the label. "'Sucre Sirian, a wine made from only the freshest Sirian fruits by the Nayvolo family.'" Scotty smirked. "Looks like there's hardly anything 'round these parts that _doesn't_ have the Nayvolo family name on it!"

"Astinder must come from a very well to do family," Chapel said. "You'd never be able to tell by looking at her though. She's as happy and carefree as a child!"

McCoy leaned back in seat and drank deeply from his glass. "I don't think that being rich has anything to do with how she acts, though it certainly doesn't hurt. From what I've seen of Sirians in the last day, I can tell they're just happy to be alive. I don't doubt they don't occasionally feel sad or angry, but their outlook on life is much more positive than us humans."

"Maybe we could learn something from them," Uhura said, taking another sip of her drink. "Whatever they're doing, they're doing it right."

"I'll drink to that," McCoy said, raising his glass up and clinking it against the other three that rose to meet it. They brought their glasses back to their lips and drank deeply from them as Jariden returned to their table with a tray of food. He carefully placed the correct dish in front of each person and gave Chapel and Uhura their waters. Tucking the now empty tray under his arm he smiled and said, "Enjoy!"

The salads that Chapel and Uhura ate were drizzled with vinaigrette piled neatly with lettuce, a red vegetable that looked like beets, what they _hoped _was chicken, and croutons. The sandwich Scotty order was so thick he was barely able to wrap his hands around it. Inside of it were three different cheeses, two different meats, and several large lettuce leaves. Scotty waited until after his sandwich was devoured before sampling the lightly salted red Dodekan chips on his plate.

McCoy had hesitated to try his dish. While it smelled and looked delicious, he was always careful about any food he tried on a foreign planet. What was harmless to one person could easily cause a violent internal reaction for someone else, and as Chief Medical Officer aboard the Enterprise, he wasn't about to blindly ingest something that could lay him out for the rest of the trip. He slowly picked his sandwich up, inspected it closely, and then took a bite out of it. The skeptical look vanished instantly as the flavor of the sandwich exploded in his mouth. Curious as to whether the roasted Dodekan roots would be just as surprising in taste, he took a stab at one of the red chunks and sampled it. Just as Jariden explained, it was lighter and creamier than any potato on Earth. He didn't know what it was about this planet, but it seemed everything he tried food wise seemed to bowl him over.

The food and drink was so delicious that they ate in complete silence, giving their meals their full attention. They occasionally exchanged glances with each other and drank from the glasses, but other than that, little more was done until their plates were clean. Jariden came back and cleared the plates from the table. McCoy turned to Jariden and said with a smile, "Thank you for suggesting the special, I enjoyed it very much."

Beaming, Jariden replied, "You're very welcome sir! Did you all enjoy the wine?"

"Oh yes!" Chapel exclaimed. "It was the best wine I've ever had!" The others nodded in agreement.

Jariden was now beside himself in happiness. There was nothing more pleasing for a Sirian than bringing happiness to another. He carefully but enthusiastically wagged his tail back and forth, his face splitting in two from his wide grin. "I'm so happy you enjoyed your meals and the wine! Here, let me bring you each a bottle of the wine to take with you!"

"Oh no!" Uhura said, raising her hands. "We couldn't possible take _four _bottles of your best wine, especially without paying for it!"

"No, I insist!" Jariden said. "You are friends of Tindy and pleasant people! Wait just a moment, I'll go grab the bottles!"

In his excitement, Jariden almost knocked over another waitress carrying a tray of food. The two couples stared at each other, shrugging and shaking their heads in defeated. From what little they knew of Sirians, they knew that once a Sirian was set on achieving another's happiness, they didn't stop until they felt they had done enough.

He skidded back to the table with four bottles in his arms. He handed each of them a bottle and continued to smile. "There you go my friends!" he said. "Please enjoy your wine! Don't worry about taking so much, we have far more where that came from!" He bowed deeply. "Please enjoy the rest of your day!"

They rose from their seats and walked out of the restaurant, wine bottles in hand. Scotty and Uhura looked at each other and smiled. Scotty smiled and said, "Well, ah thank ye both for comin' along with us on our date, but we're goin' ta continue on without ya. Ye can go back to yer rooms and do whatever else ye'd like."

Chapel and McCoy looked at each other and then back at Scotty and Uhura. Scotty raised a hand and said, "Ah know we made it sound like ye'd have ta be with us the entire date, but we really just wanted ye ta be with us fer tha first bit o' it."

"It was a lovely lunch, really," Uhura added. "I'm glad you two came along, but I'd hate to drag you two along with us for the rest of our date just for my sake. I promised him if lunch went well we'd continue on our own, and I plan to keep that promise. Surely you two don't mind?"

Blinking out of his shocked stupor, McCoy said, "Oh no, no, of course not! G'won, enjoy the rest of your date, we'll just head back to our rooms."

Chapel smiled and added, "Thank you for inviting us to lunch with you, we'll have to do it again sometime!"

With a nod, the two couples went their separate ways. Before they had gone very far, Scotty ran back and grabbed McCoy by the shoulder. "Oh, ah fergot! Could ye take this back ta tha room fer me? Uhura an' ah will be sharin' hers while we're out."

Chuckling, McCoy took the bottle and said, "Sure, just don't do anything that'll get you arrested!"

"Aye," Scotty said with a salute, turning back toward Uhura. "Ye bet ah won't! Ah got better things in mind!"

Scotty jogged back to over to Uhura and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to her. Smiling, she said, "We did good."

"Aye we did," Scotty said, returning her smile. "If we let them take things at their own pace, we'd be old an' crusty before McCoy made a move. Ah can't exactly say we've paired them up per se, but we've definitely given them a shove in tha right direction!"

Uhura leaned over and kissed Scotty on the cheek. Putting her head on his shoulder as they walked, she said, "I just hope McCoy doesn't do anything to screw this up."

* * *

McCoy and Chapel exited out of the elevator after it arrived on her floor. They had walked back from the café in complete silence, neither sure of what to say to the other. When they arrived at her door, they both feared their hearts would go flying from their chests onto the floor. They faced each other and stared, both still too afraid to speak.

Finally, Chapel gave a nervous smile and said, "Thank you for asking me to go with you for lunch Leonard. I probably would have just spent the whole day in my pajamas reading if you hadn't asked me to go with you."

Smirking, McCoy chuckled and said, "Oh, I can't imagine that would've been all _that _bad Christine. Just because we're on a pleasure planet doesn't mean you have to go out and do things the entire time. I can imagine spending a day relaxing alone in your room would be quite nice actually."

"Yes," she said, smiling. "But then I wouldn't have gotten the chance to spend time with you."

McCoy blushed at Chapel's words. Stuttering, he replied, "I-I can't imagine that I'm really that pleasant of company."

"You give yourself too little credit." She placed a hand on his chest and looked deep into his eyes. "I find your company _very _pleasant."

She stood on tip toes and kissed McCoy on the lips, softly yet firmly. The earlier images of walking in a field of flowers returned as the scent of her perfume reached his nose again. The mix of the vision in his head and the feeling of Chapel's lips on his intoxicated him more than the wine did. He let the wine bottles slip slowly from his hands and land on the carpet beneath him and wrapped his arms around her. She let her wine bottle slide to the floor as well and pulled him closer to her.

There they stood, kissing each other tenderly as if the world around them didn't exist. All they felt was each other's bodies, their heartbeats beating together as though they were one. Only after all the air had left their lungs did they part. They gazed at each other with half opened eyes, reeling from the kiss they just shared.

McCoy was first to come back to his senses. He pulled Chapel away from him and picked the wine bottles back up from the floor. Chapel then reached down as well to pick her wine bottle back up. Their eyes met once more when they stood back up, but quickly dared away when their former shyness returned.

Bright red, McCoy said, "I'll, uh, I'll see you later."

He walked toward the elevator but stopped when he heard Chapel's voice. "Please let me know if you want to do something again later on!" He turned back around and saw the heavy blush on her cheeks. "I…I don't really have any plans for the shore leave, so…if you wanted some company, I'd be glad to join you…"

McCoy gave a half smile and said, "I think I'd like that. Perhaps we could sample some more of that Sirian wine together later on."

Chapel's smile was like a ray of sunshine that warmed McCoy even from afar. Lifting one of the bottles as a way of waving goodbye, he went to the elevator panel and pressed the button. He turned around once more and caught a glimpse of Chapel entering her room. As her door closed, the elevator door opened. He staggered inside and slumped against the back wall. The door closed and rose to his floor. In the last few hours he had regressed from a grown man to a young teenage boy. His heart still raced and the feeling of her lips lingered on his.

The elevator stopped on his floor quicker than he expected. He walked weakly out of it and staggered to his room. When he entered it, he placed the wine bottles on the kitchen table and went into his bathroom. He raised his head and looked in the mirror. Staring back at him was a sight he hadn't expected to see: he was smiling. Not his usual smirk, but a real smile that added years to the angry aging face that he was so used to seeing.

A youthful laugh escaped his lips at the sight before him. He had never imagined that a woman could make him smile like that again. For once, he was glad he was wrong.


	10. Surf and Sun

**Ch 9: Surf and Sun**

The next few days passed as to be expected. The crew enjoyed their time in Ninolgog City thoroughly. There were plenty of things to keep them occupied in the way of entertainment just as the ad Kirk had perused indicated. He had been able to enjoy his time alone with Spock in abundance. They found attractions that kept them both mutually interested and were easily able to enjoy those they preferred with their friends.

On the fifth day, they decided they would make a visit to the hotel's plot of beach along with a sizable group of crew members. Kirk stood in a pair of burnt orange swim shorts with broad white stripes on the side and matching flip flops, a towel draped over his shoulder. He sighed as he waited for Spock to come out of the bathroom so they could go down to the beach. For a Vulcan male, he certainly took his time getting ready much like a human female.

Impatient, Kirk yelled, "Hey Spock! Are you ever gonna come out of there?"

From behind the bathroom door, Spock yelled back, "Jim, I fail to see why I have to put on swimming attire when I have absolutely no desire to enter the ocean."

"Because you don't wanna be the only guy wearing a shirt and pants at the beach, that's why! Now hurry up and come out!"

The door slide open to reveal Spock wearing a solid black pair of swim shorts and matching flip flops. In his hands he carried on of the towels from the bathroom and a book to read. On his face was a light frown. "I feel utterly ridiculous in this attire. It may be more appropriate to wear this to the pool, but I would prefer to wear my Vulcan suit to the pool and look a fool than to allow myself to be so scantily clad."

Kirk was too busy eyeing the small crop of chest hair that spanned his pectorals and trail of hair on his stomach that led down to a delightful place below the fabric of his shorts. Only after he heard Spock cry, "_Jim!_" did his eyes return to Spock's face, which now had a deeper frown of annoyance on it.

"Sorry," Kirk said unconvincingly. "I can't help but marvel at your sexy physique."

Spock sighed, not impressed with Kirk's comment about his body. He walked over to him and said, "You are most fortunate that I am willing to try new things in an effort to please you. If this were two years ago, I severely doubt I would be willing to sacrifice my own comfort for your sake."

"Spock, two years ago you wouldn't have been sharing the same bed with me, let alone going with me to the beach." Kirk laughed and kissed Spock on his cheek while Spock rolled his eyes. He shook his head at the slightly shorter man and said, "It has become quite obvious that your 'cute' comments do not have nearly as much of an effect on me as they once did, yet you still make them. If I do not make the expected reaction to your quips, why do you continue to make them?"

Patting his fiancé on the shoulder, he smirked and said, "Because it makes it all the more amusing when you react the way I want you to. Now come on, let's head to the beach."

* * *

Two identical red-haired beauties clad in extremely small, tight black string bikinis flanked a pudgy man with a waxed mustache. He was slightly balding and had round rosy cheeks that stood out as he smiled. The beach was always the best place for him to find single men looking for a lovely lady, and he had two that were inseparable. Perhaps if he found two lonely buddies, he could convince them both to rent the ladies and add some beauty to their stay on Kalthoria.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd, or Harry as he preferred to be called when he used his actual name, spotted two handsome men lying on lounge chairs side by side and grinned. 'Ask and you shall receive...' he thought to himself.

He sauntered cockily over to the two figures and delivered his usual sales-pitch. "Ah, gentlemen! I assume you two are enjoying your time here in Ninolgog City! Such a beautiful city requires the escort of two beautiful women, and you're in luck! I just so happen to have two beautiful women right here who are anxious to spend time with two handsome men like yourself! Molly and Meg here are excellent company, both outside _and _inside the bedroom if you catch my drift!" Molly and Meg winked for emphasis.

Kirk sat up in his beach chair and looked at the gorgeous red-heads before him. They both had beauty marks on the side of their twinkling pale gray eyes in mirrored positions. Their skin looked soft and smooth and…slightly purple tinted? That was different. His eyes trailed down from their faces and lingered at the barely covered chests, which defied gravity considering their massive size.

Normally Kirk would feel a familiar stirring below his waist at the sight of such beauties, but he found that his appreciation for their appearance didn't translate into a physical reaction. He couldn't help but chuckle at himself. It seems like he was really and truly a monogamous man with eyes only for his one true love.

"Uh, sorry to make you waste your sales pitch, but uh, me and him," Kirk motioned between him and Spock with his thumb, "are a pair if you catch _my_ drift. While your women are in fact _very _lovely, I'm afraid they'd find their…talents…wasted."

"Ah, say no more," Mudd said. "I understand completely. But! Do not think that I don't have something that you two can still enjoy!" He reached into the shoulder bag he carried with him in case he was unsuccessful with his women and pulled out a white bottle. "Here in my possession is the single most effective sunscreen in the universe! You need only put it on once every three days and you will have total protection from the sun's harmful rays! Now, don't let the Kalthoria sun fool you, it may seem like a week star what with the fact that it only stays high in the sky for a few hours before setting, but its seemingly gentle rays are really quite potent! You both could enjoy this bottle for long after your stay here on Kalthoria is over, and I'm selling it for a _very _reasonable price!"

"Oh, we won't be needing something like that very much," Kirk said. "You see, we're in Starfleet and we're only here for a brief shore leave."

Mudd's face turned pale. "Did…did you say _Starfleet?_"

Smirking, Kirk said, "Yes, Starfleet. Surely you're not concerned that we'd report your illegal selling of women, are you?"

It wasn't quite hot enough to merit sweating without exerting oneself, but Mudd was sweating so badly you would think he had ran the entirety of the coast. He put on a smile and held the bottle out to Kirk. "You know, since you two are such _fine _young men, I'd like to give you this sunscreen completely free of charge! Consider it a present from me to you in honor of your shore leave!"

Kirk took the bottle and shot a look at Mudd. "Thanks."

Rubbing his sweaty hands together, Mudd turned to his twin beauties and said, "Well! Ladies, I think we should continue on, don't you? There's lots of beach left to survey and many lonely men in search of a companion! Come along!"

Kirk and Spock watched the odd man and his two women walk away, receiving a final baiting look from the twins. Leaning over toward Spock, Kirk said "Well, I can't imagine we'd really need to use this, so what should we do with it?"

Shrugging with his eyebrows, Spock said, "If the sunscreen is really that protective, perhaps we should apply some, as we will be out here for quite some time."

Kirk shook his head. "Nah, I don't really trust that guy. Anyone who sells women can't be a very reliable source when it comes to stuff like this. I also took the liberty of looking at the sun's intensity and that bullshit he fed us was completely bogus. Obviously he normally uses that line on people he thinks he can fool easily, but since he couldn't get us to buy his women, he wanted to make as much money out of us as he could. I'm willing to bet he's got a ton of crap in that shoulder bag of his that he tries to pawn off on people."

Dropping the bottle onto the sand, he rose from his seat and looked down at Spock. "I'm gonna take a dip in the water. You sure you don't wanna come with me?"

"I am certain," Spock said with a nod. "I will stay here while you have fun in the water."

Kirk gave a wave as he ran off toward the crash waves. Spock reached down beside him to grab his book but felt the bottle of sunscreen they had received from Mudd. He looked at Kirk once more to make sure he was far away enough to not stop him from putting the sunscreen on. It wasn't that he didn't trust Kirk's research on Kalthoria's sun, he just felt better putting it to use. Also, he was rather fond of his pale skin and didn't really like the idea of getting a tan, even if only a faint one, while exposing so much of his body to the sun.

He opened the bottle and poured a generous amount of the strange bluish white cream into his hand. It had an unusual aroma to it that Spock couldn't identify. Nonetheless, he applied the cream all over his body, making sure not to miss an inch. He regretted that he couldn't get any on his back, but there was little he could do about it at the moment.

Sulu and Chekov ran past him toward the hotel, Eliza walking slowly behind them. The half-Orion girl waved at Spock as she walked and headed towards him. When she was close enough, she leaned over him and smiled. "Hello there Mr. Spock. Enjoying the sun?"

Spock allowed himself a small smile for his subordinate. Eliza was a bright, if perhaps over zealous girl that he had found himself talking with more and more of late. It seemed she too was plagued by her mixed heritage and took comfort in speaking to Spock about her problems. Spock was used to those around him seeking his guidance on anything from scientific theories to relationship advice, and Eliza was no exception. He had come to think fondly of her; he was an only child and thus never got to experience sibling love, but he considered Eliza almost like a younger sister.

"Yes," he said. "I just finished putting some sunscreen on myself, but regretfully I am unable to put any on my back. I hate to request this, but…"

Eliza smiled brightly and took the sunscreen from Spock's hand. "I get ya. Go ahead and flip over, and I'll put some sunscreen on your back."

Following directions, Spock lifted himself off the seat and flipped over so that his back faced up. Eliza put a blob of the oddly colored cream into her hand and looked at it closely. "Uh, Spock," she said, "I'm not entirely sure this stuff should be put on you…"

"I do not recall requesting an analysis of the sunscreen Eliza. If you are not going to put it on me…"

"No, no, no," Eliza said, cutting Spock off. Sighing, she leaned down and smoothed the cream over his back. Using both hands, she massaged the cream into his skin so it would absorb and not sit on top of him. After several minutes of massaging Spock's back, the cream had been completely absorbed into his skin. However, she didn't stop massaging his skin; in fact, her hands began massaging lower and lower on his back until they had reached a dangerous place on his body.

"Eliza," Spock said, a disapproving tone in his voice. Eliza sighed and removed her hands from the very top of Spock's butt cheeks. Standing and putting her hands on her hips, she grinned and said, "You can't blame a girl for trying."

Spock flipped his body again so that his back pressed against the beach chair. "I appreciate your assistance with applying the sunscreen to my back," he said. "As for blaming you for your attempts at 'feeling me up' as you humans put it, I doubt that Sulu would approve." His head tilted to the side and his trademark eyebrow rose on his face. "Or should I say Chekov?"

Eliza gave a chuckle. "You had it right the first time…technically." She flopped in the beach chair next to him and sighed again, putting her hands behind her head and looking up at the cloudless blue sky above her. "This whole half-Orion, half-human thing is messing with me when it comes to those two, Spock. The human part of me is in love with Sulu, but the Orion part of me wants to have them both, and not in a romantic way. Sulu knows he's the one I really want, but I can't bring myself to ignore Chekov. He's just so damned cute and when I'm alone with him, I can't control myself."

"I can understand what you mean," Spock said, "but sooner or later you will need to figure out which is more important to you: your love for Sulu or sexual encounters with both that could strain the relationship you have with both, as well as the one they share. Naturally, the logical choice would be to dedicate yourself to the man you love, but considering your Orion nature, logic would also say to continue on as you are and to not allow yourself to become attached to either. That of course is impossible because of your human half."

"I understand what my choices are Spock, but how do I know which I should make?"

Smiling, he said, "The only way to know is to listen to what your heart says. Your mind will only continue to swing like a pendulum between the two, so let your heart tell you what it is you truly want."

Eliza rose from the beach chair and planted a kiss on Spock's forehead before he could prevent it. "Thanks Spock," she said. "I know that your advice is technically the same thing I could have heard from any of my friends, but hearing it come from you means a lot." She took a moment just to look at him. Kirk was a truly lucky man to have Spock's love. "Say, the crew's talking about going to a night club tonight. Why don't you and Captain Kirk come with us? If you come, I promise I'll reserve a dance just for you!"

Spock gave a light chuckle and smiled at Eliza. "I appreciate the invitation, but night clubs are not my main choice of entertainment. I will present the idea to Jim, but I make no promises."

"That's better than a straight no at least," she said. Turning away to return to the hotel, she yelled over her shoulder, "Think about it Spock! I'll be looking for you tonight, so I better see you there!"

Shaking his head, Spock waved as the fleeting Eliza and grabbed his book from the side of his chair. He removed the bookmark that held his place and resumed reading his book. Just as he began to feel himself get lost in the story, he heard the sound of Kirk's laughter coming closer to him. Raising only his eyes, he saw Kirk jogging toward him with a huge smile on his face. Water clung to his golden brown body and darkened his hair from its sandy blond color to a deep brown. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he sat down on his chair and began drying himself with the towel that hung on the back of it.

"Hey Spock," he said after using the towel to wipe the water from his face. "We're not doing anything tonight, are we?"

Spock blinked and replied, "No, I do not believe we have made any particular plans. Why do you ask?"

"The crew's talking about heading to some night club downtown. I think it'd be a fun experience."

The look on Spock's face didn't indicate that he felt the same way. Actually, Spock looked as if Kirk had suggested they spend their night rolling around in sand leeches. Kirk knew he would have to turn his charm up to max in order to convince Spock that going to the night club would be worthwhile, otherwise he'd be spending his night doing his best caged bird impression while everyone else went out and enjoyed themselves.

"Come on," Kirk begged. "I really wanna go and I don't wanna go alone."

"Then simply ask one of the crew to be your date for the night," Spock said, his attention returning back to his book. "I am sure you would have a much easier time convincing one of the female crew members to accompany you than asking me to. It would also give me time to catch up on my reading and enjoy a quiet night alone."

Kirk groaned and leaned forward. "I don't _want _to go with one of the female crew members Spock, I wanna go with you! Please? I promise, if you don't enjoy yourself, not even a little bit, I'll get up extra early and cook breakfast for us, even if we're out really late tonight. Pleeeeeeease?" He clasped his hands together and got on his knees.

Despite his dislike of their proposed evening plans, Spock couldn't help but smile at the sight of Kirk on his knees pleading to him. He made a mental note to incorporate begging into one of their sexual escapades at a later date. For now, he simply closed his book and crossed his arms irritably in front of him. Grumbling, he said, "You had better be certain that the breakfast you prepare for me more than makes up for the abysmal evening I have in store for me tonight."

Flinging his arms around his fiancé, Kirk nuzzled Spock's cheek and said, "Trust me Spock, you won't regret it!"


	11. Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

**Ch 10: Fighting Like Cats and Dogs**

Spock and Kirk stood in the elevator waiting to arrive at the bottom floor. Excitement sparkled in Kirk's eyes, but Spock looked clearly displeased with their evening plans. They were both clad in short-sleeved button down shirts and tight blue jeans, Kirk's shirt a blue-gray that complimented his eyes and Spock in a black shirt with silver stripes that shimmered in the light.

Kirk looked over at the gloomy looking Vulcan as the elevator descended and said, "Jeez, lighten up! We're not going to a funeral; we're going to a night club! It's going to be fun!"

Eyes straight forward, Spock replied, "I hardly understand how the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and dancing uncomfortably close to loud music can be considered 'fun'."

Smirking, Kirk said, "Trust me, dancing uncomfortably close isn't all that bad if you're dancing with the right person." He cut an eye at Spock and asked, "What's your diversion to alcohol about though? Are you just not a fan of the stuff?"

"Vulcans are affected on a greater scale than humans are when they consume alcohol," Spock said, still not looking at Kirk. "Just as with humans, we become completely unable to control our more primal instincts and become violent, lustful, and unreasonable. However, given our low tolerance for alcohol, the effects of alcohol in the bloodstream are experienced much quicker and result from a much smaller amount of ingested alcohol. Our greater strength and inherently turbulent natures make us extremely dangerous when alcohol enters our system. For that reason, I find it very discomforting to surround myself with those that would deliberately ingest alcohol when they are just as aware of the affects of alcohol on their behavior and control. This is just one of the many reasons Vulcans find humans to be one of the most illogical intelligent races in existence."

Kirk looked at Spock as he spoke and took his words painfully to heart. When it was put that way, he understood exactly why Vulcans stayed away from alcohol. There were quite a few times that he had dealt with his drunken step-father as a child whenever his mother left on a trip. His step-father was already unbearable when he was sober; dealing with him when he was drunk made him wonder why he hadn't left with his brother when he tried running away from home. What made it worse was he would never drink when his mother was home. He would either wait for her to go on a trip or he'd go to a bar and stay there until he sobered up. It was like he wanted to hide it from her and save it up for when he and his brother couldn't run to her for help.

"I'm sorry Spock," Kirk said in a small voice. "I didn't know. If you want, we can go back to the room and just stay there tonight. I can make up some excuse for why we didn't come."

Spock finally turned his head toward Kirk and looked at him. He saw a pain in his eyes that he didn't like. He knew that Kirk really did want to go to the night club, but couldn't bear to force Spock to be uncomfortable just for his sake. Spock considered suggesting that Kirk go ahead to the night club without him and enjoy his night, but somehow he knew that would make Kirk feel even worse.

Taking a deep breath, Spock said, "When you were officially assigned as captain of the Enterprise, I felt the same way about going to the bar as I do about going to the night club. I went not because I thought it would be fun, but because I wanted to bond with my fellow crewmates and because I wanted to celebrate your achievement. By that same token, I wish to go with you to spend time with our crewmates and learn more about human behavior. Also, I wish to make you happy; when we are apart, you are unhappy, which brings me a greater discomfort than surrounding myself with inebriated humans. I assure you that while it is highly likely I will not enjoy myself tonight, at the very least it will be a learning experience and make you happy."

Kirk gave a half smile and said, "Guess I should start thinking about what I want to make for breakfast now, huh?"

The door of the elevator opened on the bottom floor. Returning Kirk's half-smile, Spock said, "It would not be a bad idea," and exited the elevator.

There was a sizable crowd waiting for them in the lobby. Among the group were McCoy, Eliza, Chekov, Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and about three dozen other crew members. Spock wasn't sure how such a large group of people could enjoy their time efficiently, but it wasn't up to him to decide. He was merely accompanying Kirk and appeasing his desire to participate in social activities with his crew members.

The group left promptly after Kirk and Spock arrived. There had been others invited, but the group of crew members present was the only one confirmed to leave at the time. The other crew members would meet up with them later in waves. Arrangements for transportation had been made earlier that afternoon to transport everyone downtown. The night club Sa'Fron would be an hour walk away in comparison to the swift two minute drive by hover bus.

Said hover bus coasted to a stop in front of the hotel as they group stepped outside into the warm evening air. A door to the sleek and shiny dark blue hover bus slid open and allowed the group to enter. The inside of the hover bus was silver, its seats upholstered with gray and dark blue fabric. The driver was a floppy eared Sirian with baggy eyes that looked much like a beagle. He smiled wearily at his passengers and gave an occasional nod when they passed by him.

The hover bus took off as soon as the last passenger had seated themselves. Its engine ran silently and those aboard were barely aware they were moving until they saw the city whipping past them quickly. They arrived at the night club in record time, spending more time unloading the hover bus than the spent riding in it.

Sa'Fron stood before them, its neon lights beckoning them to enter. Somehow the club looked even bigger on the inside than it had outside. The bar stretch in an arc around the dance floor, tables available for those who needed to rest their feet or to just enjoy their drinks and the music sitting down.

The night transpired as one would expect. Loud music played on the speakers, men and women alike dancing together on the dance floor or enjoying drinks and conversation at either the bar or at the tables. Sitting at one of the tables were Sulu and Chekov, sipping their beers as they watched Eliza dancing.

"So, what do you think of her?" Chekov asked, playing absentmindedly with his drink.

Sulu shook his head and replied, "She's half-Orion, Pav. There's not much to think about."

Chekov stared at his friend briefly and then returned his attention to Eliza. "Half-Orion or not, she ees ze most beautiful woman I hawe ewer seen een my life."

Sulu laughed at his young friend. "What, are there not that many beautiful women in Russia?" Chekov shot an angry look at Sulu. "Of course there ees! Eet ees just zat…"

"It's just what?" Sulu interrogated. Chekov muttered something under his breath that Sulu was barely able to hear. "What?" Sulu smirked. "Did you just say they don't want to go out with you?"

"No!" Chekov said, a little too quickly. Sulu smirked again and leaned back in his chair, looking at his best friend. "I… I merely said zat zey all seem to find someone before I come along…"

"And you think Eliza might be the one?" Slowly, Chekov nodded. Sulu shrugged. "Good luck, man… she's half Orion. She won't be easy to tame."

"You seem to hawe tamed her well." Chekov said slyly, looking at Sulu with a slightly envious gaze. "I'm not as stupid as you think, Hikaru! I see how much she prefers you. Out of all ze men she flirts with, you are ze only one zat she looks at with a burning gaze."

Taking another sip of his beer, Sulu said, "I never said you were stupid, she might just like older guys. No offense to you of course," Sulu added with a grin. Chekov simply rolled his eyes and focused his attention on Eliza's seductive dance.

Once the song ended, Eliza sashayed up to the table and leaned on her elbows, showing off ample cleavage with a smile. "And what would my two favorite boys be talking about, hmm? You wouldn't be talking about little ol' me, would you?"

"Uh…" Chekov's eyes were so magnetized to the sight before him that he lost all ability to speak properly. Eliza smirked and turned her emerald green gaze to Sulu.

"What about you, Hikaru? Want to tell me what you were talking about?"

"You…" Sulu said, his breath catching in his throat. Eliza smiled again and batted her eyelashes at them both.

"Would either of you like to dance with me?" She asked in her most lilting, sultry voice. "While I enjoy your intent stares, I don't like dancing all alone when I have two handsome men to choose from."

Stumbling over his chair, Chekov got up hurriedly and offered his arm to her. Eliza giggled and slipped her arm through his. "Don't worry, Hikaru…" She said as a song started up. "I'm saving the next dance for you." She blew him a kiss before leading Chekov to the dance floor.

A pair of disapproving eyes watched from the bar as the two made their way to the dance floor. Yeoman Jeanette Sanders murmured to her friends, "Can you believe that slut? I heard she's done every male on the ship at least twice. It seems like she's sinking her teeth into Sulu and Chekov now. At this rate it seems like there won't be any good men left for the rest of us."

"Oh, shut up, Jeanette," her friend Anja Liubov said as she took another sip of her drink. "There's an old saying Earth saying that says, 'If you can't say anything nice about anyone, keep your mouth shut.' Maybe you should take that to heart and mind your own damned business."

"Anja's right," Yeoman Janice Rand added. "The moment you speak ill about someone, you leave the door wide open for someone to do the same to you. Anyway I think you're getting Eliza mixed up with Mesmire. Eliza's pretty good about controlling her Orion half for the most part, but Mesmire spends more time fornicating with her patients then actually treating them."

Jeanette made a face at the two girls and turned around in her seat, scowling at the dance floor. All the men who had been eyeing her suddenly got the feeling she wouldn't be very good company and went to find other girls to dance with. She drank deeply from her glass of Andorian ale and crossed her arms irritably.

"Eliza… I was just wondering…" Chekov said as they danced to a slower song. "Would you like…" He cleared his throat, his cheeks turning pink. "Would you like to go out with me?"

Eliza smiled winningly at the young Russian and traced one finger down his cheek. "We'll see, Pavel. It was very kind of you to ask…" She brought her face close to his and kissed him soundly. So unprepared was Chekov, it took a few seconds longer than normal to react and kiss her back, which caused Eliza to giggle into the intimacy. Pulling back after a few seconds, she winked at him slyly. Chekov felt his throat constrict and his pants tighten slightly.

Eliza smirked and led him back over to the table where Sulu was sitting. "Hikaru, would you like to dance with me?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Sulu grinned, getting up with a lot more grace than Chekov had and leading the girl onto the dance floor, leaving Chekov to stare after Eliza as she left. Seeing the two dancing together killed all desire to remain in the club. Muttering Russian profanities under his breath, Chekov got up from the table and started to make his way out of the club.

Spock sighed as he stood against the wall, staring at the many crew members that danced in front of him. He had no idea what the appeal was in thrashing about along to horrible music; he also had no idea why Kirk insisted on dragging him along. Even as wave after wave of their companions arrived, he couldn't find one that didn't really want to participate in the frivolous activities.

Kirk came over to Spock with a sloppy grin on his face. He had just gotten back from the dance floor after dancing with Uhura and was making his ninth attempt of the night to get Spock to dance. "Heeeey Spock!" he said, slinging an arm around him. Spock smelled the alcohol on his breath and cringed. Kirk poked him in the chest and said, "You sir, need to come out to the dance floor and dance."

"For the ninth time, I do not desire to dance to this cacophony you refer to as 'music'," Spock said, clearly annoyed.

"Aaaw come ooooon," Kirk said, facing Spock and pressing his body against Spock. Reluctantly, Spock put his hands on Kirk's hips, sighing. Kirk purred, "Just one smaaaall dance and I swear I'll leave you alone."

Spock raised his eyebrow at Kirk and said, "I know you much better than that Jim. After you manage to get me to dance with you once, you will repeatedly come back asking for more." With a smirk, he added, "That is an admirable trait in the bedroom, but in this case it is not."

Kirk returned Spock's smirk with a sexy kiss that _almost _convinced him to leave his spot on the wall, but his feet remained firmly planted despite Kirk's effort to pull him toward the dance floor. Kirk broke the kiss and pouted cutely at Spock, who simply smiled and shook his head. With a humph, Kirk crossed his arms and said over his shoulder, "Fine. I didn't wanna dance with you anyway," and walked off. Spock couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Kirk stomp over to the bar before returning his attention to the gyrating crew members in front of him.

McCoy's head turned when he saw Kirk flop dramatically onto the bar. Smirking into his drink, he asked, "Spock turn you down again?"

Lifting his head, Kirk said, "He's such a stick in the mud. I wanna make him jealous. Why don't _you _dance with me?"

"Ooooh no," McCoy said, raising his free hand. "Don't you dare try to tempt me. I came here to_ drink, _not to _dance. _Besides, I'm finally getting over you and things with Christine are starting to develop. The last thing I need is to remember how insane I was to fall for you in the first place."

Kirk grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Ooooh, that's riiiight!" he said, wiggling his fingers tauntingly at McCoy. "Someone's finally gotten over me and is finally making progress with Christiiiine!" He laughed and placed a hand on McCoy's shoulder, shaking him. "I don't wanna mess with that! I wouldn't want to start a cat fight unintentionally!"

"Somehow I get the feeling she could take you," McCoy replied, taking another sip of his drink before putting it down.

Kirk laughed and placed a hand on his chest. "Oh ho! Ooooow! That hurt Bones!" He placed a hand on his hip and added, "So if I can't get you to shake your butt out there with me to get Spock jealous, who the hell _can_ I get_?_"

"There's always _me.._."

Both Kirk and McCoy turned to see Russell Northrop and his boyfriend Jake Lozano standing behind them. Russell smirked and said, "I'm sure Spock still remembers the rumors that circulated about us a while back. You may have quelled his doubts after hooking me and Jake up, but I'm sure seeing us dance together would rattle him enough to get him out on the dance floor."

"Seriously?!?" Kirk said in shock. It was true that he had drank his fair share of alcohol that night, but he was drunk enough to dance with Russell "Cupcake" Northrop. He turned to Jake and asked, "Are you okay with that?"

Jake shrugged. "I know he's not gonna carry you off into a corner and ravage you, so I'm not worried."

Russell smirked at Jake, "You don't know that. Anyway, didn't I hear you mention how cute you thought Kirk was once?"

Before Jake could reply, Kirk raised his hands and said, "Oookay, before I have horrible images of the world's _weirdest _ménage a trois, I have to respectfully decline."

Grinning, Jake turned to Russell and said, "You know, I hadn't considered us _both_ dancing with him. I bet that'd be more than enough to convince Spock to quit being such a wallflower…"

"Whoa, wait, both of you?!? I don't think…"

Kirk was being pulled to the dance floor by Jake and Russell before he could properly protest. He turned his head and shouted behind him, "Bones! Help me!"

McCoy simply waved and laughed. "Don't have too much fun Jim, or they'll throw ya out!"

The three moved further onto the dance floor until they were within Spock's sight and began dancing. Kirk resisted at first, but when one of his favorite songs began to play, he forgot that he was dancing with Jake and Russell and went wild. Spock's eye twitched as he recognized the two men with him as Jake and Russell. Jake was of no consequence to him, but seeing Russell made him more leery of the situation. His leeriness was justified when he saw the two men begin to run their hands over the dancing captain. He clenched his jaw at the sight, knowing this was only a ruse to get him to dance with Kirk. However, when he saw Russell wrap his arms around Kirk and Jake grab on to Kirk's hips, something in his brain snapped.

He stomped onto the dance floor and tapped the two security officers on their shoulders. They saw the livid look on Spock's face and almost dropped their act. Smiling, Jake said, "Oh hey Spock! Did you want to join in?"

"I would like to dance with my fiancé," Spock said, "so if you two do not mind, would you kindly vacate and allow me to do so?"

"Aww, but we're having so much fun with him Spock!" Russell said, teasing Spock. He put his head on top of Kirk's head and nuzzled it, making Kirk shudder in ill-suppressed disgust. Teasing Spock didn't seem to be the right thing to do at the moment. Grinding his teeth, Spock said, "It would be best if you two let us dance. _Alone._"

Being security guards and having observed Spock's behavior over the last two years told them that listening to his wishes was the best thing for their health. They promptly stopped dancing with Kirk as the song ended and smiled innocently. "Alright," Russell said. "We'll let you and Kirk dance."

"Enjoy yourselves!" Jake said, patting Kirk on the back. "Maybe we can get the next dance," he added with a wink.

Spock's eyes narrowed. "I highly doubt it."

Jake and Russell walked to a different part of the dance floor to give Kirk and Spock a chance to dance together. They exchanged smirks and high fived each other as they walked away. The song that played next was a slow song, much to Spock's relief. Taking a deep breath and composing himself, he said, "Since the song is of a much slower tempo, I have no aversion to dancing with you. But I will only do it this once. Do not think that I will bend to your will and dance whenever you request."

Kirk kissed Spock sweetly on the cheek and wrapped his arms around him. "Alright, I'll try to keep that in mind."

Bryce Peters watched the two men dance together from his seat at the bar and shook his head. He couldn't understand how a couple so vile could dance openly in public like that. He was probably the only man on the entire ship that thought their relationship was disgusting. Bryce was a rare breed in the 23rd century; he was a close-minded, arrogant, pompous bigot who thought anyone that wasn't human wasn't worth his time. He made an exception for Mesmire simply because the only thing she wanted was sex. It was just as well, because in his mind, the only thing Orion women were good for was sex anyway. He could push the thought of her sleeping with men of all races out of his mind when her legs were wrapped around him. Besides, when it came to Eliza, the half-Orion, half-human science officer, they thought alike.

Speaking of the half-breed, he looked across the room and saw her dancing with Sulu, another of the many crew members he avoided contact with as much as possible. Times like this made him very glad he spent most of his time in engineering so he didn't have to interact with many people. He turned his head and spotted Jeanette watching Eliza as well, frowning deeply with arms crossed.

Jeanette was one of the few women who caught his eye on the ship. From what he observed of her, they thought and felt alike. He rose from his bar stool and sauntered cockily over to her. Leaning his back against the bar, he said, "Disgusting isn't it, watching that half-breed dancing with the chink."

The look Jeanette shot him could have melted a diamond. "I may not approve of Eliza's promiscuity, but I'm not a bigot. I don't appreciate you addressing me like I am." She rose from her stool and addressed her friends. "Come on guys, I'm not interested in staying here anymore. Apparently they'll let _anyone_ in. Let's head back to the hotel."

Her friends shot equally venomous looks at Bryce and nodded, also rising from their stools. Rand stayed while the rest of her friends made their way to the night club's entrance. "You know Bryce," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "racism isn't the best way to attract girls at a club Bryce, especially not in this day and age. You should seriously work on your pick up lines, as well as your narrow-minded view of the universe."

Her long blond hair whipped around her as she spun on her heel to leave and almost hit Bryce in the face. Grumbling, he downed his drink and made his way out of the club as well. Getting shot down in such a manner was a real killjoy, and if any of the women around him had heard their conversation, his chances of scoring were now slim to none.

Sulu held Eliza just far away enough where they could face each other and talk while they danced. "Chekov really likes you, you know," Sulu said. "I've never seen him so smitten with someone like this before."

"Who isn't smitten with me?" Eliza smirked softly, wrapping her arms around his neck as they pressed together. "I know you are…"

"I am because I'm lucky enough to have you…" Sulu murmured, kissing her lightly. "No other guys can really say that about you, can they?"

"None on this ship…" Eliza's eyes twinkled with mischief and she kissed him gently. "He's just a shy boy who needs courage to talk to women. If he's able to get the courage he needs by practicing on me then that's great. But you know me, Hikaru. I'm all yours."

Sulu grinned and kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'm glad." He murmured. Part of him felt bad for Chekov and his ineptitude with women, but another part was just glad he had Eliza to himself, at least for now.

In another part of the club, Chapel, Artemis, Astinder, Astinder's brother Zaqej and her sister Bojalena sat at a table laughing happily together. Zaqej and Bojalena were sharing childhood stories of their adventures with Astinder and her other siblings. Back on their home planet Siria they all played together in the woods on a daily basis, which naturally spawned lots of fond memories to reminisce over.

The club was owned by Zaqej and Bojalena, founded a few years after the success of their family's hotel. They had other businesses in the city as well, but Sa'Fron was their pride and joy. Just as their father did when he found out that Astinder's ship was coming to visit for shore leave, they reserved the club solely for the crew to enjoy a night of dancing and even rented the hover buses to transport them to and from the hotel.

As they spoke, three uninvited guests wandered over to their table. They were Felisian, two males and one female. Black and red sashes were tied around their waists, the marks of mercenaries among their race. Astinder was the first to spot them, alerting the rest of her group with a low growl.

The female Felisian sneered at Astinder as she and her companions drew closer. "Now, now, _Tindy._" The way the Felisian hissed Astinder's nickname sounded more like an insulting explicative than an endearing term used by her close friends and family. "We merely came to say hello. You've got a lot of nerve coming back to Kalthoria unannounced."

"Last I checked I didn't need to tell you anything," Astinder growled angrily, her ears pressed against her head.

"And last I checked I had requested you not enter our night club," Zaqej snarled in an equally angry tone. Both he and Bojalena glared at the trio before them with narrowed eyes.

"You requested, yes," the woman said as she sashayed over to Zaqej. "But unless you demand it, I won't comply." She leaned down and purred in Zaqej's ear, "You know I can't stay away from you for long…"

"Theca," the larger Felisian male hissed. "I've warned you about flirting with Zaqej."

Theca stood up and shot her elder brother an innocent look. "Aw, you're no fun Eli. You're just jealous because I'm not doting on you."

"Cut the crap Theca," Bojalena barked. "Why are you here?"

Sniffing and tossing her head back, Theca haughtily replied, "Well, we certainly didn't come here because we like your little night club. We would've walked right past this dump if Altes hadn't caught Astinder's scent and _insisted _we look for her inside." She grinned at Astinder and added, "You _do _recall how much Altes enjoys your company Tindy?"

"I enjoy money," Altes interjected, his tail betraying the embarrassment he felt inside. "I only mentioned it because the last of the Nayvolo pups had resurfaced. It was _you _Theca who wanted to…"

"I could care less what your reasons are! I just want you to leave!" Astinder shouted, attracting the attention of some of the people around her. "I wanted to visit my family in peace! If I wanted to see you, I would've looked for you! You've got a lot of nerve expecting me to be cordial to you after what you did to Christoph!"

Eli crossed his arms. "You're _still _blathering on about that? It's not _our _fault your brother was foolish enough to get himself killed…"

The three Sirians rose from their seats, growling low. The Felisians hissed angrily back. By now everyone around them was noticing the dangerous confrontation about to erupt and was slowly inching away. Their argument was becoming so fevered that Kirk and Spock had stopped dancing where they were across the room.

"That doesn't look good," Kirk said.

"Indeed it doesn't," Spock agreed. "Perhaps we should make our way over to them before things get too heated." The two began making their way over to quarreling group, pushing past those that were still dancing and those that were rooted in place, observing from afar.

As they came within eyeshot of the group, they heard the argument begin to reach a dangerous peak. Astinder shouted, "You took advantage of the fact that Christoph wanted to be different than the rest of our family and lured him into your vile mercenary group with your feminine wiles! After all he sacrificed for you, you just used him and let him die on one of your missions! You didn't even mourn his loss; you just looked for your next target, the next poor sap you could convince to stand in the line of fire! He _loved _you, and all you could do to thank him was betray him, you filthy whore!"

"_Silence, pup!_" Theca raised her hand with claws extended and brought them down. Before the claws could cut into Astinder, Zaqej stepped in front of her to take the blow. The claws never touched his skin though; Spock had swiftly inserted himself in the space between Zaqej and Theca and taken the blow for them.

Everyone stared at the green blood that dripped from Spock's forearm, including Theca and her brothers. Though the wound was shallow, Spock swayed on his feet as though he had received a fatal blow. Eyes rolling to the back of his head, Spock began to fall as his legs turned to jelly. Multiple people cried out his name as he fell, others gasped. Zaqej caught him easily in his arms before he could fall. Kirk and Chapel both rushed to Spock's side and held him, Chapel grabbing his arm to inspect the wound and Kirk looking worriedly at his paling face.

McCoy pushed through the crowd to get to him as well. He shouted, "Come on, move it, get out of my way! I'm a doctor and I need to attend to this man!" He reached Spock's limp body that was unnecessarily being supported by three people and began examining him. He was still breathing, but his heartbeat had dropped dangerously low.

"Is he okay Bones?" Kirk asked, though it was plain to see that he was far from okay.

"He's still breathing, but his heart rate is low even by human standards. We need to get him back to the hotel and fast."

Theca's mouth worked as she struggled to find the words to say. Her blow had been intended for Astinder, not for this stranger and _certainly _not for Zaqej. In addition, she couldn't understand how a simple rake of her fingernails against the Vulcan's skin could cause such a reaction.

Kirk glared at Theca with his frigid blue eyes and said, "I don't know who you are or what this argument is about, but if you know what's best for you, you better leave _right now. _I'm the captain of the star ship Enterprise and you just assaulted my first officer with dozens of witnesses to confirm it."

Realizing very quickly that lingering would get them placed under arrest for assaulting a Starfleet officer, if not beaten to a bloody pulp by the angry crew members that surrounded them, Altes grabbed Theca's shoulder roughly and said, "I think you've done enough damage, sister dear. We would be wise to leave now while we still can of our accord."

Theca hissed and said, "This is _far _from over, _Tindy. _Pray we don't meet again any time soon."

"I could say the same to you," Astinder growled.

The three Felisians hurriedly pushed past the crowd to make their way out of the night club. Astinder looked at Kirk with tears in her eyes. "Captain, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have let her upset me. I didn't mean for Mr. Spock to get hurt."

"No," Bojalena said, "Zaqej and I are to blame. We simply should have ejected them from our club the moment we saw them. We told them we didn't want them to come here anymore, but they ignored our request. Until now we've had no need for bouncers to keep order, but it seems the time has come for us to hire some."

Kirk swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. "It's no one fault. No one could have guessed that something like this would happen. We just need to get him to the hotel so McCoy can treat him."

Zaqej picked Spock up and held him in his arms. "We'll take you there. Bojalena and I have vehicles we can use to get you back to the hotel." The crowd parted to allow them through as they walked out of the club. Bojalena pulled a remote out of her pocket and pressed two different buttons on it. Two sleek hover cars, one a shiny black and the other a deep purple, zoomed from behind the club and parked in front of the entrance.

Zaqej placed Spock in the back seat of his car while McCoy and Kirk took seats inside. In Bojalena's car Chapel, Astinder, and Artemis piled in. When everyone was in the cars, Zaqej and Bojalena revved the engines and soared off toward the hotel. In the back of Zaqej's car, Kirk stroked Spock's hair and allowed a couple of tears to roll down his cheeks.

"Hang on, Spock," he whispered through the painful lump in his throat. "You're gonna be okay…" _I hope, _he thought to himself.


	12. Nighttime Excitement

**Ch 11: Nighttime Excitement**

Chekov slowly made his way up the stairs leading to the elevators and entered the first one he saw with a sad look on his face. Why did he have such rotten luck with women? He couldn't even answer his own question. He sighed as the doors of the elevator began to close.

A voice called out to him. "Hold the elevator!" Chekov hurriedly turned to push the button that held the door open before it could close. An auburn-haired girl in a multicolored dress and black stockings raced into the elevator with a big smile on her face. "Ah, thank you!" She said, trying to catch her breath. "I was hoping I could catch this one… the view is spectacular."

Chekov's mouth was slightly agape as he stared at the girl. "Ah… well… zat ees okay…" He murmured. "Which floor are you on?"

"Fourteen." Chekov pressed the button for floor fourteen and settled to the back of the elevator, crossing his arms. It would figure that just as he was contemplating his inaptitude in the way of wooing women one would come bounding into the elevator with him. He decided that hiding in the corner of the elevator was the best way to deal with the uncomfortable situation.

The girl looked at Chekov and smiled prettily at him. "You're Pavel, right? Pavel Chekov?" Chekov nodded silently, still dazed by the girl's abrupt entrance and not trusting his mouth to function properly in her presence. "I'm Anja."

Despite himself, Chekov found himself repeating her name. "Anja…zat ees a Russian name. You are from Russia?"

"Yes." Anja said, her smile growing bigger. She corrected herself, "Well, my father is Russian. My mother is Swedish."

"Ah…" Chekov smiled a little and allowed himself to take in Anja's appearance. Her skin was the color of cream and her eyes a beautiful blend of green and brown. She was very pretty, and probably not much older than himself. Sure, she didn't hold a candle to Eliza's beauty, but considering she was a full blooded human, her looks still caught his attention. Chekov found the courage to inquire about her. "Are you on ze Enterprise?"

"Oh, yes." Anja giggled. "You won't have seen me around, though. I'm usually stuck working in engineering or helping out in security, so I'm a borderline hermit."

_A female engineer? _Chekov thought as he stared in wonder. The girl before him was quickly arousing his curiosity. Anja rolled her eyes at the look on his face. "Girls can be engineers and security officers too, you know," she teased lightly. "We're not all made of breakable china, though it seems most men wish to believe we are. Some of us actually like to get our hands dirty from time to time."

"I was not…" Chekov's face turned pink. Just as he feared, he had made himself look foolish in front of a pretty girl. He was wondering if he'd ever be able to keep his foot out of his mouth. "I – I mean…"

Anja laughed lightly and placed a soft, warm hand on Chekov's arm, deepening his blush. "Relax, Pavel," she said, reassuring the poor young ensign, "it's all right. I'm just teasing you. You know, you're rather cute when you're flustered…perhaps I should make a note to visit the bridge and tease you more often."

An automatic voice announced their arrival at the fourteenth floor. Chekov regretted tripping over his own tongue in the short time he had to impress the girl, but somehow he had managed to catch her interest. Anja looked at Chekov and smiled one last time before exiting the elevator. "See you around Pavel," she said, waving at him using only her slender fingers and giving him a playful wink. Chekov raised a hand in return and waved, watching as she walked down the hall, losing sight of her as the doors closed.

Exhaling loudly, he slumped against the back wall and slid down a bit. Navigating the Enterprise was infinitely easier in comparison to talking to girls. If it weren't for the fact he liked them so much, he'd consider simply hiding himself in his work and never talking to them. He couldn't help but smile at the encounter though; even though he floundered through most of it, it still went well.

When the elevator reached his floor, he walked out and whistled happily as he returned to his room. Maybe there was some hope for him yet.

* * *

Zaqej and Bojalena's cars emptied the instant they arrived at the hotel. Zaqej and Spock were at the center of the cluster of people that burst through the doors. Staravinius had been talking to one of his desk clerks when he saw them come in. McCoy turned to the group and yelled, "I'll get my medical equipment and bring it down. Get him to the lounge on the second floor so he can lie down!"

Chapel's attention shifted from the ghostly pale Vulcan to the fleeing doctor. "Leonar- er, Doctor!" Chapel said, correcting herself. Given the current situation, it didn't seem appropriate to refer to McCoy by his first name. "Shouldn't we bring Spock up there to your room?"

McCoy rotated and walked backwards to reply to Chapel without breaking his stride. "I don't want him to be moved any more than he already has! If that scratch has poison in it, just carrying him around could be causing it to spread through his blood faster! I need him stationary as soon as possible!"

Staravinius rushed over to the group and said, "Good gracious! What's happened?"

"It's my fault father!" Astinder blurted before anyone could properly explain. "I got into a fight with the Sins and he took the blow for me! Theca tried to scratch me but Mr. Spock stepped in and blocked it with his arm."

"If anyone is at fault, it's me," said Zaqej. "When I saw them come up to us, I should've just thrown them out like I wanted to. Instead I let them instigate a fight that never should have happened and this is the result."

"Forget about who is at fault," Staravinius said. "Come, let's get him upstairs and laid out on one of the couches as Doctor McCoy requested."

The group ascended the stairs and walked over to the area that had several large red couches usually reserved for relaxing or waiting for friends. Zaqej rushed ahead of everyone else and gently laid Spock down on the couch. His chest rose and fell at a slower rate than normal, but it was enough to determine that there was no immediate fear that they'd lose him.

Kirk crouched near him and stroked his hair, biting his lip at the cold, clammy feel of his normally fire hot skin. He counted his blessings that Spock hadn't been stone cold; at least clamminess meant he was still holding on tightly to life. He ignored the itching he felt on his tear stained cheeks and clutched onto Spock's limp hand.

"Come on, Spock," he whispered to the unconscious Vulcan. "You gotta fight whatever it is that's inside you. Come back to me, please." He tried in vain to reach Spock through their mind link, a thought that chilled him to the bone despite the mild temperature of the hotel.

The few minutes it took McCoy to reach his room, grab his things, and return to the group turned into an eternity for those waiting for him. Having Spock out in the open in his condition turned out to be a poor choice, as they were beginning to draw a small crowd of concerned crew members that had returned from the club soon after they did. At the front of the crowd were Sulu and Eliza, who held on tightly to Sulu's hand. McCoy once again had to push his way with his medical kit through bystanders to reach his patient.

"Come on will ya, get outta the way! Make a hole, make a hole!" Finally he reached the couch Spock lay on and used his Feinberger to get his vitals and readings. The small device whirled and lit up as McCoy waved it up and down Spock's body to try and find out what the problem was. The tricorder he looked at gave him results he didn't expect to see.

Kirk noticed the crease in McCoy's brow and inquired. "What is it McCoy? What's wrong with Spock?"

McCoy shook his head. "I can't understand it," he said. "I'm showing a mix between an aphrodisiac and quarternium 89 in his blood. Based on that Felisian woman's appearance, I'd be willing to bet that the aphrodisiac came from her. As for the quarternium 89, that's a dangerous ingredient found in questionable sunscreens that have been banned for decades."

Kirk and Eliza's eyes grew wide when they heard the word "sunscreens". He recalled the sunscreen that he had received from the man that tried to sell him and Spock women on the beach and immediately knew where the quarternium came from. "Damn you Spock," he muttered under his breath. McCoy quirked an eyebrow at him, catching the words Kirk had intended to only be heard by himself.

Sighing, Kirk explained. "I received sunscreen from some random guy on the beach today. I _told _him it couldn't be trusted since the guy we got it from looked really shady. I can't believe Spock would be so damned _stupid…_"

"You and me both," McCoy said. "I can give him something to counteract what's in his system, but there's no way I can tell what this is really doing to him. The mix of the two compounds has turned them into something completely foreign to me. Based on his symptoms, I have something I can try to give him, but it may not even touch what's in his system, or worse, it could do further harm." He put a hand on Kirk's shoulder and squeezed. "I know it's not an easy decision to make, but I need your approval to give it to him since you're his fiancé and he can't make the choice himself."

Kirk's vision became bleary with fresh tears he held back. The idea of losing Spock was not one he wanted to entertain, but he couldn't deny that the situation was rather bleak at the moment. He hated the idea of losing his fiancé before they could even be wed, but Spock's chances of survival would be higher if McCoy treated him than if he was left to fight alone.

Taking a deep breath, Kirk nodded and said, "Do what you have to McCoy. I trust your ability to treat patients."

"I just hope your trust is well placed," McCoy said as he pulled out a hypospray and injected it into Spock's neck. He released the breath he held and turned to Kirk. "Tonight will be the real test. If he recovers or even if his condition simply improves tonight, we're in the clear. However, I suggest that we return to the Enterprise early just in case."

"That won't be necessary Doctor," Spock said groggily. All eyes were on him as he slowly sat up on the couch, pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead. "You will find that I am quite well. There is no need to prematurely terminate the shore leave simply for my sake."

"Spock!" Kirk threw his arms around Spock and shook as the tears fell from his eyes. To his relief, his skin had a slightly warmer feel to it. He didn't understand why or how the hypospray worked so quickly, but he was glad it had.

Spock weakly wrapped his uninjured arm around Kirk while McCoy began treating the wound on his other arm. Smiling weakly, he said softly, "I apologize for worrying you."

Kirk pulled Spock away and held him at arm's length. His tear-stained face contorted in anger. "You damned well _better_ apologize! You scared the shit out of me! I told you not to put that sunscreen on and you did it anyway! How the hell could you make a stupid mistake like that?!?"

Bowing his head, Spock simply said, "I do not know…for some reason, I felt it would be safe to use. It seems my calculations were off. I am deeply sorry for my indiscretion…"

Sighing, Kirk closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Spock. "If we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, you've got to learn to trust me on things like this. I may not have your logic, but I'm pretty damn good at sensing things that might be dangerous."

Spock nodded sadly and said, "You have my word that I will be more trusting of your judgment."

To their mutual surprise, everyone around them applauded as if they were performing a scene from a play. An angry vein popped out at McCoy's temple as he finished wrapping Spock's injured arm. Regardless of whether the moment they just shared was touching or not, these two deserved some privacy. It was his own fault for not keeping Spock out of sight in his condition, but without knowing the extent of his injury he couldn't take the risk of moving him more than necessary.

Standing up, he began waving his arms at the crowd that surrounded them. His Southern accent flared in his irritation as he shouted, "Alright you lot, the show's over! G'won, git outta here! Don'cha'll have somethin' better t'do than meddle in other people's business? Shoo!"

Recognizing the tone of McCoy's voice, everyone grumbled as they made their way to the elevators. Hands balled up in fists that sat on his hips, McCoy waited until everyone but Astinder, Artemis, Chapel, Zaqej, Bojalena, and Staravinius had vacated the area before turning back to Kirk and Spock. Sighing, he said, "Well, if Spock really is better, I guess I can allow you two to go about your business. But I wanna see him first thing in the morning, you hear me? Don't think I won't send someone after you if you don't come find me and let me examine him!"

Smirking, Kirk said, "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. I promise I'll bring Spock over to you so you can examine him."

"You better!" McCoy said loudly. "And no extracurricular activities until I can give him a clean bill of health, you understand me?"

"There is no need to make unreasonable demands, Doctor," Spock said with a tired smirk.

McCoy closed his eyes tightly and pressed the heels of his hands into his temples. "Dammit Spock! I'm going to get you for putting bad thoughts in my head!"

The group laughed together, glad that the tension of the moment had eased. Zaqej turned to Kirk and Spock and asked, "Would you like me to carry him to your room?"

Kirk shook his head, "No, I can manage him on my own now that he's conscious again. Thank you both for your help though."

Bojalena and Zaqej bowed in unison. "No thanks is needed," Bojalena said. "We take full responsibility for what happened."

"As do I," Astinder added sadly.

Spock shook his head at the three Sirians and did his best to smile. "Do not concern yourself with what transpired. None of you could have known this would happen. The important thing is that I am well." He stood up from the couch with Kirk's help and said, "We will be taking our leave for the evening. I bid you all good night."

Everyone said their good nights and made their way to the elevators. Everyone, that is, except for the four members of the Nayvolo family. When the others had disappeared into an elevator, Staravinius turned to his children and gave a stern look. "I am _very _disappointed with you three. I've warned you about starting trouble with the Sins, and look what it's brought us! A Starfleet officer was almost killed in the process!"

"But Father," Astinder said meekly, "They came to _us_ and started trouble…"

"_I don't care!_" Staravinius barked, causing his children to cringe, their ears flat against their heads and their tails tucked between their legs. "You three are grown adults! I'll not have you behaving like children! Astinder, I _would _excuse you for being the youngest, but I would have thought that being in Starfleet would teach you better self-discipline and judgment!"

Astinder gave a whimper at her father's reprimand. He scowled for a moment at his children before continuing in a deep rumble. "Fighting with the Sins like this will _not _bring Christoph back; it will only create more trouble for the Nayvolo family. If you can't keep your noses out of trouble I'll have all three of you sent back to Siria by force! Do I make myself clear?!?"

The three Sirians mumbled, "Yes sir…"

Now that he had gotten his anger out, he reached forward and hugged his children tightly. They returned the hug and listened as he whispered, "I've already lost one child. Don't do anything that could cause me to lose another." They nodded silently and stared at him when he released them. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Go on, you're free to go. Just…just remember what I've said."

"Yes Father," they replied in a low voice before walking away, heads still bowed down low and tails still between their legs. Staravinius sighed and flopped down on the couch, covering his eyes with his hand. At times like this, he really hated being a father…

* * *

Sulu and Eliza stumbled out of the elevator, the latter giggling as she tried to steer Sulu to his room. After seeing that Spock was okay, Eliza decided to lighten the mood between them by flirting shamelessly with him on the elevator ride up to his floor. Sulu pulled her towards a wall and grabbed her around the waist, bringing her close enough so that he could kiss her passionately.

Eliza returned the kiss with a hunger and rested her forehead against his. "I think we'd better wait until we're in your room, Hikaru…" She breathed, her face pale and her eyes bright with lust.

"Don't think I can wait…" He murmured with a grin, his eyes darker than normal as she leaned against him when they finally got into the elevator. Pressing against him seductively, she leaned close to nibble on his earlobe, eliciting a moan from him and causing something hard to press against her abdomen. Leaning back and raising her eyebrows, she smirked.

"Well, well…" She purred, dipping in for a kiss as her hand headed south to rub against his crotch. "Looks like you really can't wait…" She smirked again as pulled him the rest of the way down the hall to his room. Waiting, albeit impatiently for his card to open the door, they engaged into another long-lasting kiss before the door beeped and let them in.

Stumbling into the room, Sulu took control and kicked his bedroom door open, guiding Eliza inside swiftly and kicking that door shut also, activating the sound-proofing of the room so that they wouldn't disturb Chekov in the other bedroom.

* * *

Chekov lay on his bed staring at the ceiling when he heard Sulu's bedroom door slam shut. He clenched his eyes shut and tried not to think about the fact that they were having sex. At least they could soundproof the room so he didn't have to hear it as well.

He sat up on the bed and sighed sadly. It was hard for him to tell if he was really in love with Eliza or if he was just a horny teenager lusting after an attractive woman. Frustration at Eliza's preference over Sulu burned deeply in the pit of his stomach. Was it really because Sulu was older? Or was it because Chekov had zero skill when it came to women?

Whatever the reason was, it made him miserable. Not even the thought of Anja could make him feel better. After all, that was merely a chance meeting in an elevator. There was no guarantee that they'd be able to build a relationship, let alone get along with each other. So long as Chekov kept turning into a blithering idiot when he was in a woman's presence, he had next to no chance for romance.

He frowned at the mini bar across from his bed that mocked him. Even on a pleasure planet he was unable to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Part of him knew that drinking copious amounts of alcohol would solve none of his problems and would only give him a nasty hangover the next morning, adding physical ailment to whatever misery he had temporarily forgotten in his drunken stupor. Still, the idea prying open the locked mini bar and downing the entirety of its contents still appealed to him.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he stripped down to his underwear, pulled the covers to his bed back and lied down, hoping sleep could bring him some relief.

* * *

As Eliza rested on Sulu's chest, one finger gently tracing invisible patterns on his skin, he stroked his fingers through her hair sleepily. "I love you…" He murmured.

Eliza looked up at him and smiled slightly. The three small words which held so much power behind them were the last words she expected to hear from Sulu's lips. Instead of being put off by them though, she was happy to hear them and hoped he really meant them. "I love you, too…" She said softly, leaning up to leave a lingering kiss on his lips.

"Do Orions really love?" Sulu asked, more to himself than to Eliza and she sat up, looking at him.

"Yes, we can love… it's just that full-blooded Orions are not monogamous." She answered, giggling and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Go to sleep, Hikaru…" She said quietly, her voice taking on a hypnotizing lilt that soon sent the helmsman off into a deep, exhausted sleep. Eliza smiled and got up quietly, careful not to wake him. Putting on her clothes, she quietly made her way out of the bedroom, closing the door almost silently behind her.

_What to do now…_ She thought to herself as she walked along the thick carpet. Like any Orion, she wasn't tired after sex, her fatigue transferring itself back into energy after only a short rest. _Maybe I should go and talk to Pavel…_ She smirked at the idea, wondering if the young Russian had gotten over his little problem. _Only one way to find out…_ she smirked, walking over to Chekov's bedroom door.

Knocking quietly, she waited. After a minute, the door was opened and Chekov's nose stuck out of the crack that opened. Eliza smiled and said, "You'd better be careful, Pavel… you might lose your nose if you do that too often."

Chekov blinked rapidly through the sleep in his eyes, unsure if he was really seeing the half-Orion before him or not. He opened the door slightly, revealing his uncovered chest and blue boxer briefs. "Eliza… what are you doing here?"

"I just came to see how you were, that's all," she said in that musical voice that always made Chekov's heart skip a beat. "I seem to remember I left you a little… flustered…when we finished our dance."

"Oh…" Chekov's face went bright pink. "Eet… eet ees nothing." He mumbled. Opening the door a little more, he looked at the woman before him and involuntarily licked his lips. Eliza smirked as she watched his eyes darken and his nostrils flare from the mixed scent of recent sex and her pheromones. "Um…" He bit his lip, unsure of how to act or what to say. Taking a chance, he asked, "Do… do you want to come een?"

"Well, if you're inviting me…" She murmured. Chekov nodded and opened the door wider to let her pass, which she did, pressing against him as she did so. Chekov paused briefly before closing the door and watched as the woman sauntered to the bed and sat down. It took all of his willpower to not sit next to her and start kissing her then and there.

"Come and sit beside me, Pavel…" She murmured, patting the seat beside her. "I'm lonely over here."

Chekov bit his lip again as he walked toward the bed, as if drawn by an invisible magnet and sat next to her. Everything about what he was doing screamed to him that it was wrong, but it was as if he had no control over his actions now that Eliza was in the bedroom with him. She leaned over and pressed her lips against his ear. "I know you like me, Pavel…" She breathed softly. Chekov groaned and felt his pants tighten for the second time that night.

Eliza smirked and pressed the heel of her palm against him, causing him to moan a little louder. "Do you like that, Pavel?"

"Yeeessssss…." He hissed. Eliza smiled, pressing a little harder against the bulge and caressing her fingers around it.

"Would you like me to continue?" She murmured, watching his face, which was pink and flushed with desire.

"Yes…" He whimpered softly. Eliza smiled again. Chekov pleaded again, "Please Eliza…"

Eliza wasn't one to deny a man when he asked for her services and the sweet, innocent Chekov was no exception. Slowly unbuttoning the young Russian boy's pants, she lowered her head and indulged herself for the second time that night.


	13. Sensitivity

**Ch 12: Sensitivity**

The smell of food cooking woke Spock up the next morning. It seemed that Kirk had found some vegetarian versions of the ingredients he would need for pancakes and was scurrying about in the kitchen preparing breakfast before Spock could wake up. A bleary smile curled on Spock's lips at the thought of Kirk cooking for him. After the night he had, he deserved the delicious breakfast Kirk promised to cook if the evening didn't go well.

When he sat up, the feel of the silk sheets slipping off his body when he woke up gave him a case of full body goose bumps, something he only contracted when he was cold. He slipped out of the bed as quickly as he could and stood up, only to find that the carpet beneath his bare feet tickled him as soon as he made contact with it. His hand clapped over his mouth as he resisted the urge to burst out laughing from the sensation. Eyes darting, he leaped from the bed to the doorway in three graceful bounds to avoid as much contact with the carpet as possible.

From where he stood he could see Kirk hustling about in the kitchen, monitoring the food on the stove while cutting up fruit on the counter. The only thing he had on was his Starfleet regulation underwear. Spock considered sneaking up on the unsuspecting man and embracing him from behind. As he pictured the scene in his head, he heard Kirk childlike laughter in his ears and imagined distracting him from the task at hand…

The unexpected tightness in his own underwear brought Spock back to his senses. Pushing the un-Vulcan like thoughts from his head, he stepped onto the cold marble floor and walked into the bathroom. The sight he saw in the mirror shocked him; his entire body had a green flush to it. After seeing himself in the mirror, he realized that the reason everything seemed so much colder than usual was because his body temperature had risen while he slept. For a moment he thought he might have contracted a cold, but other than the chills he suffered from and his heightened sensitivity to touch, he felt fine. Even the wound on his arm ceased to ache.

He grabbed the bandage around the wound and began unraveling it. His eyes grew wide when he saw that the wound was gone, as if he had never received it. No scab, not even a scar remained on his arm. But how? The wound hadn't been very deep, but it was still deep enough where he should see some trace of it.

Without taking his attention away from his arm, he walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where Kirk was cooking. Kirk looked up and spotted Spock with a smile. "Hey there sleepy head! Looks like I finally managed to wake up before you for once!" As Spock came closer, he noticed the full body flush Spock had. "Are you alright? You look like you're hot or something…" He noticed that Spock's attention wasn't on him and shifted his focus to the arm that had been wounded the night before. When he looked at Spock's arm, he dropped the spatula he held in his hand on the floor and rushed over.

"Spock," he said incredulously. "How did your arm heal so fast?"

Spock shook his head. "I do not know. I unwrapped it to inspect the wound only to find that it had completely vanished, almost as if I never received it."

Kirk took Spock's arm in his hands and took a closer look at it. Surprise widened Spock's eyes at the feel of Kirk's hands on his arm. The softness of his touch was amplified, sending shivers up his arm and down his back. Kirk ran his hand over where the wound once was, a simple touch that normally wouldn't faze him in this context, but for some reason now felt as if he had kissed him passionately. He closed his eyes tightly and forced himself to shift his attention away from his arm and focus on lessening the increased swelling between his legs.

Kirk saw Spock's closed eyes and feared he had hurt him. He quickly let go of his arm and said, "Oh God, I'm sorry Spock. I thought since the wound was gone that the pain was gone as well. I should've been more careful…"

"…no…" Spock said, breathing heavily. "You…you did not hurt me…on the contrary…touching my arm as you did…felt incredibly good."

An eyebrow rose on Kirk's head. "Felt good? Should I ask?"

Spock's eyes opened again, but focused on the food Kirk was cooking on the stove. Kirk followed his gaze to the stove and swore. "Our breakfast! I forgot!" He whirled around and quickly flipped the pancake that had begun sizzling on the frying pan with a clean spatula. Luckily he made it just before it started to burn. He gave a sigh of relief and pressed down on the last pancake of the batch.

Fiery arms snaked around his waist and pulled him close. Spock's body felt more like a furnace than the stove in front of him. He turned his head and smiled at his affectionate lover and said, "As much as I enjoy snuggling with you, I gotta finish these pancakes up. Maybe after I'm done we could curl up and relax a bit before hitting the beach again."

He felt Spock's head nod against him before the arms released him. Grabbing one of the plates of pancakes with one hand, Kirk flipped the last pancake out of the frying pan and placed the plate under it as it landed. He grabbed a can of whipped cream and dispensed a small dollop on top of the stack. Moving back to the counter, he picked up a handful of Sirian Fruit and Enig berries and placed them carefully around the dollop. He then grabbed his plate and moved over to the dining table Spock had seated himself at. Doing his best impression of a waiter, he placed the plate in front of Spock and said, "Your breakfast sir."

The smile he received was more than thanks enough for waking up early and preparing the meal. "Thank you Jim. I appreciate your efforts to prepare breakfast for us. I know how much you like to sleep in."

Kirk moved to the other side of table and laughed as he sat down. "Yeah, but sometimes a change of pace is nice. After all, I did promise that if last night didn't go well, I would wake up and cook a nice breakfast for you. When we get back on the Enterprise I won't have as many opportunities to cook for us, so I should enjoy it while I can." Winking, he added, "So should you."

They picked up their silverware and began eating their breakfast. Kirk happily munched his food, but Spock merely stared at his plate after his first bite. Mouthful of pancakes and fruit, Kirk looked at Spock and asked, "What, yours don't taste good?"

Swallowing, Spock responded. "No, no, it is not that it does not taste good. It is very good…much better than I expected."

"Gee thanks," Kirk said in mock hurt. Spock shook his head. "I am not trying to make a comment on your cooking. I am attempting to convey my surprise in the drastic increase in flavor. The combination of Sirian Fruit and Enig berries has proved to be an amazing combination before, so I am not surprise by that, but for some reason, it is like the flavor of not just the fruit, but the entire dish is far more intense than it should be."

Kirk cocked his head to the side and sampled Spock's pancakes. Chewing, he shook his head and said, "I don't know what you're talking about Spock. It tastes the same as mine, and while I did a fantastic job of making these pancakes might I say, they're not mind blowing."

"No Jim, they are," Spock said, looking deep into Kirk's blue eyes. When he looked into Kirk's eyes, his insides stirred just as they had when they first confessed their love to each other. His breath caught in his throat and he felt the familiar pain of over stimulation between his legs. He quickly returned his attention back to the pancakes and began eating them again. Kirk simply shrugged and continued to eat his as well.

Kirk was surprised to see that though he had eaten more than Spock before their conversation, Spock had managed to finish his pancakes before him. He even scraped the plate to pick up any extra crumbs. Kirk smirked and rose from his seat. "Guess you really liked my pancakes," he said. "Guess I'll have to see about taking some Sirian Fruit and Enig berry seeds back with me on the Enterprise so I can grow my own crop."

He picked up both of their plates and silverware and carried them to the sink. As soon as he turned around, he saw Spock standing right behind him and jumped. "Jeez Spock, don't scare me like that!"

"I am sorry," Spock said, rubbing Kirk's arm absentmindedly. "I simply wanted to thank you for the breakfast."

"Oh I see," Kirk said seductively. "You want to kiss the cook, is that it?"

The sound of Kirk's voice was the final straw. The control Spock had struggled to maintain over himself broke. He lifted Kirk up and mashed his mouth against his, gaining easy access to his mouth with his tongue. Kirk was taken aback by Spock's enthusiasm, but was even more surprised when Spock spun around with him and sat him on the counter behind them.

The cold of the kitchen counter soaked through Kirk's barely covered bum and sent shivers up his spine. Combined with the fevered touches Spock planted on his body, Kirk's nerves were going berserk from the multiple sensations. His penis pressed painfully against the restrictive fabric of his underwear; the rock hard bulge that pressed against him between his legs told him that Spock had the same problem.

When he felt Spock's hand move from his back, he expected to feel it between his legs, releasing his throbbing erection from its cotton prison, but the feeling never came. Instead, Spock broke the kiss and rubbed a chunk of Sirian Fruit he had grabbed from the bowl on the counter on Kirk's soft lips. He then placed the chunk of fruit between Kirk's teeth and moved his mouth over it. They bite through the succulent fruit, their lips meeting again in a kiss as they chewed. When he swallowed his half of the fruit, Spock licked the rest of the fruit's juices off of Kirk's lips and suckled them.

It was while Kirk's mouth tingled with the flavor of the fruit and the feel of Spock's tongue lavishing his lips that one of Spock's hands finally freed his erection from his underwear and wrapped his fiery hand around it. Were it not for Spock's mouth over his, the moan that escaped his lips would have echoed loudly through the massive hotel room.

Spock grabbed another piece of Sirian fruit and rubbed it on Kirk's neck, the juice dripping down his collarbone. This time he fed the entire piece to Kirk and used his tongue to lick the juice off of Kirk's chest and neck. Reaching a particularly sensitive part of Kirk's neck, he sucked and nipped at it, smiling inwardly at the short gasps and moans the action elicited from the blond-haired man.

Kirk had always had a bit of stamina when it came to sex and during the year and a half he and Spock had been together he had built up even more. However, the combination of the fruit, Spock's hands around his cock, and his mouth sucking on his neck was beginning to be more than he could handle. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to force the feeling that welled up inside of him down.

To his relief, Spock stopped his relentless assault and took a moment to remove both his and Kirk's underwear. Kirk took the opportunity to allow air to fill his lungs, as he had momentarily forgotten how to breathe. Grabbing an Enig berry this time, he fed the berry to Kirk and held his fingers to his lips. When Kirk finished chewing, he withdrew his tongue and began licking Spock's fingers.

Spock closed his eyes as they began to roll to the back of his head. At times like this, he was thankful that his Vulcan heritage turned his hands into an additional erogenous zone. The sensation of Kirk holding Spock's hand with both of his, drawing his fingers into his mouth, and sucking on them was almost as satisfying as having his dick sucked.

Spock replaced his fingers with his mouth and hungrily kissed Kirk, lavishing the inside of his mouth which was now deliciously sweet from the fruit he had just eaten. Kirk's hands found Spock's hair and ruffled it as they kissed.

Lowering the hand Kirk had just sucked on, Spock softly pressed a moist finger against Kirk's rectum and inserted it. Kirk moaned against Spock's mouth and pushed his hips against Spock's hand, sending the finger further in. Breaking the kiss, Kirk threw his head back and moaned loudly as Spock moved his finger in and out of his rectum, eventually adding a second and then a third. This was a process they had practiced on many an occasion that got easier and pleasurable every time.

When Spock felt that Kirk was ready, he placed the head of his penis at the entrance and pushed in. Since this wasn't the first time they had done this, he need not be as gentle as when they first had sex, but he still kept his enthusiasm to a minimum to avoid hurting Kirk. He used just the right amount of force to enter Kirk, whose back was arched.

Spock felt Kirk's racing heartbeat through his penis as it pressed into his stomach. When he had fully inserted himself, he held Kirk close for a moment and enjoyed the feel of him around his dick. Kirk's hands clutched onto Spock's back and raked against the skin on it. Taking this as a sign to continue, Spock pulled out just enough and began thrusting in and out of Kirk.

"Oh God," Kirk said as he wrapped his legs around Spock's waist, his toes curling. Each time Spock pulled out, Kirk used his legs to push him back in. Spock's hand moved up and down Kirk's dick in time with his thrusts, the pre-cum that steadily oozed from the tip serving as a lube. Kirk's breath came in short gasps as Spock's dick hit his prostate and send lightning bolts of pleasure up his back.

Their bodies glistened with sweat despite the cool temperature of the room and flushed a deep red and green respectively. Kirk couldn't contain himself any longer. Lungs burning from a lack of air, Kirk managed to say, "Spock…I'm…I'm gonna…" before releasing himself. Streams of semen shot onto both his and Spock's chests and stomachs. He dug his fingernails into Spock back and cried out loud.

The contractions around Spock's cock were more than he could handle and drove him over the edge as well. Letting out an uncharacteristic cry of pleasure, he shot his own release deep into Kirk, slowing his pace just enough to continue the waves of his orgasm without becoming painfully pleasurable. When he had reached the very peak of his orgasm, he ceased his thrusting, his cock completely inside of Kirk.

The two men gasped for air and pressed themselves together in an embrace. Catching his breath, Kirk said, "Wow…it's never been like _that_ before…"

Spock leaned his head against Kirk's and smiled, giving a breathless laugh. "I am glad to hear you enjoyed yourself," he said, planting a kiss on Kirk's shoulder. Without warning he pulled Kirk off the counter. He pulled himself out just enough to comfortably flip Kirk around without injuring himself and placed him face down on the counter. Kirk looked over his shoulder in surprise at the Vulcan, who merely gave a mischievous grin in response. "Prepare yourself for a second helping."

* * *

Azrael sighed as he waited for the elevator to reach the top floor. He had unfortunately been wrangled into checking up on Spock by Doctor McCoy. Leaning back against the wall, he wondered why McCoy didn't send one of his orderlies to check on Spock instead of sending him. Sure, if Spock was somehow experiencing strange symptoms that could potentially put the captain in danger, a security officer would need to be present to evacuate and protect Kirk. Still, if he had to be sent, McCoy could at least have sent one of his cute medical officers with him…

The elevator announced in his mechanical voice, _"Fiftieth floor. Please exit the elevator." _Shuffling across the hall to their room, he stared at the door in front of him, somewhat worried about coming to visit them. The last time he had passed by their quarters all alone was over a year and a half ago and he could still remember the cries he heard from behind the door. He shuddered and blocked the thoughts from his mind.

Just as he raised his fist to knock, he heard the one thing he hoped he wouldn't. Loud cries and moans came from behind the door, not only Captain Kirk's this time, but also Mr. Spock's. _Oh come on! _Azrael thought to himself, throwing his hands up in exasperation, letting them slap against his legs. _Do they have to be having sex __**every **__time I pass by their room?!?_

He crossed his arms angrily and tapped his foot as he waited for them to finish. Sadly it would be worse for him to return to McCoy without checking on Spock than it would be to wait until they finished and risk seeing things that couldn't be unseen. The moans escalated until the two reached a very audible climax in unison. He turned back toward the door and waited a moment longer with an eyebrow raised on his face. Satisfied that they were finished, he raised his fist up and knocked loudly on the door.

* * *

Spock fell on top of Kirk's back after they both climaxed a second time, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. Kirk's face was pressed against the now warm counter top, sweat pouring onto it as he gasped for air. He wanted to ask Spock what had gotten into him, but he couldn't get his brain to form cohesive thoughts.

They both jumped at the sound of knocking on their door. Azrael's voice echoed behind the closed door, "Captain Kirk? Mr. Spock? I hate to, uh, interrupt, but McCoy sent me up here to check up on Spock's injury. He wanted to make sure that there hasn't been any excessive inflamation or draining or stuff like that. Is it safe to…er..can, can I come in?"

Kirk cursed underneath his breath. In his preparations for the make-up breakfast and the activities afterwards, he had forgotten all about taking Spock to be checked out by McCoy. Luckily, Spock's brain was still functioning enough for him to reply to Azrael. "I apologize for not seeing Doctor McCoy after I woke up this morning. Would you kindly inform him that I will be down to see him after I have prepared myself for the day?"

Azrael knew what Spock really meant by "preparing himself for the day" and tried to block any further offending thoughts from his mind. "Uh, as much as I'd like to comply with that request Mr. Spock, he's informed me to inspect the wound on your arm before returning to him. I'm afraid he won't accept anything less."

Closing his eyes out of irritation at the overbearing doctor's orders, he carefully pulled out of Kirk and said through their mind link: _This is not good. Surely when Azrael sees that the wound on my arm has healed, he will think Doctor McCoy a liar. I will have to ensure that he does not see the wound and that I go down to see Doctor McCoy personally. You go get cleaned up and dressed, I will invite Azrael in._

_Are you nuts?!? _Kirk shouted through their link. _You can't invite him in looking like that!_

_I will put on one of the hotel's complimentary bathrobes and cover myself up. Now do as I say or this will not work!_

"Guys?" Azrael shouted from behind the door. "Look, I know this isn't the best time, but I gotta do _something _to keep McCoy from being pissed off. Even if you just wave your arm in front of the intercom screen, that'd be good enough.

Spock shot a look at Kirk and made a motion for him to go. Kirk sighed and ran into the bathroom, tossing a robe out before closing the door behind him. Spock rushed to the bathroom robe that landed on the couch and quickly put it on. He rushed into the room, grabbed a change of clothes for both him and Kirk and threw them into the bathroom. Now out of breath, he rushed to the door and opened it.

He ignored the look on Azrael's face and said, "Please come in. Kirk and I will prepare ourselves and go down with you to see Doctor McCoy. There is no reason for you to examine my arm as you will not know what to look for as far as symptoms go. Simply make yourself comfortable and we will be done momentarily."

Azrael gave Mr. Spock a tentative look and debated whether he should go inside the room or not. Eventually he decided that bringing both Kirk and Spock to Doctor McCoy was the safest course of action and entered the room. He gaped in awe at the size of their suite as Spock hurried to the bathroom to join Kirk in the shower.

Now alone in the room, Azrael realized he had no idea where he could safely sit to wait for them. Each part of the room filled his head with inappropriate thoughts of the captain and his first officer doing X-rated things. The only thing he knew he could trust was the door, so he sat down on the floor and rested his back against it.

When the bathroom door opened, Kirk and Spock emerged fully dressed in casual clothing. As unusual as it was seeing Spock in jeans and a long sleeved shirt, it was a refreshing reminder that he was in fact half human. Azrael rose from the floor and dusted his back end off. Smiling awkwardly, he said, "Alright, well, if you'll just follow me, I'll lead you to Doctor McCoy's room."

His superiors followed him out of the room and into the elevator, where they descended to the fourth-third floor. Azrael led them down the hall to McCoy's room and knocked on the door. A gruff "Come in!" came from inside, signaling that it was okay for Azrael to open the door. The three men entered the room, which was featured a significantly smaller living room and kitchen as well as two bedrooms instead of one.

McCoy, who had been sitting at the dining room table, angrily stood up and immediately got in Kirk's and Spock's faces. "What the hell did I tell you two yesterday? Didn't I tell you to come see me first thing in the morning? Did I need to check your hearing in addition to your arm?"

"You have my sincerest apologizes," Spock said, his arms clasped behind him in his typical stance. "Our activities this morning distracted us from seeing you."

"I bet they did," McCoy grumbled. "Azrael, you can go. It's obvious that Mr. Spock is not a threat to anyone in his current state, though he's a threat to my sanity. Go enjoy the rest of your day."

Nodding, Azrael left the room as quickly as he could without running full force. When the door closed, McCoy glared at Spock. "Alright you green-blooded hobgoblin, show me your arm."

Spock lifted his arm and rolled the sleeve back slowly, revealing the unmarred green-tinted skin underneath. McCoy's eyes doubled in size at the sight of Spock's arm. "My God," he said, grasping onto his arm and rubbing the spot where the wound should have been. Spock desperately tried to ignore the shivers that shot up his arm and down his spine from McCoy's touch. The last thing he wanted was to be aroused by McCoy.

"How the hell did you arm heal like that?" McCoy said in disbelief, still holding on to Spock's arm. "Nothing in the hypospray I injected into you should've done something like this!"

"I am uncertain Doctor," Spock said, "however, I advise you to remove my arm and cease rubbing it. I am experiencing extreme sensitivity to touch at the moment and I am rather unnerved at the effects your touch is having on me."

McCoy couldn't have dropped Spock's arm faster if it were on fire. He fought back the wave of nausea from Spock's comment and inquired, "I assume that explains why you and Kirk 'forgot' to come see me?" The sheepish look Kirk and Spock shared was answer enough to McCoy's question. "I also assume your hypersensitivity to touch has something to do with what I assume is a full body flush?"

"It would appear that way," Spock said, rolling his sleeve arm back down and clasping his hands behind his back once more.

Grabbing his Feinberger and tricorder, McCoy examined Spock's body and scanned it for anything out of the ordinary. "Well, your vitals are completely normal, but I'm still picking up traces of the unidentified chemical compound in your blood," McCoy said. "It's thinned out at least, so I don't think there's any imminent threat to your health. Nonetheless, I want you to take it easy today. I will repeat this, even though I'm certain I'm wasting my breath: NO extracurricular activities of ANY kind. This is a direct order from the Chief Medical Officer, and I expect you to follow it to the letter, regardless of the fact that we're still on shore leave! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Bones, you're as clear as a crystal," Kirk said, slapping his friend on the back. "Now, can Spock and I go now? We don't want our last full day on Kalthoria to be wasted hearing you lecture us."

"Yeah, go on and get outta my room, you hornballs!" McCoy shouted irritably, waving his arms to shoo them out. "Just don't come rushing to me when Spock's unconscious because you two can't keep your joysticks in your pants!"


	14. Last Day in Paradise

**Ch 13: Last Day in Paradise**

Had Spock not been extremely sensitive to any and all sensations, he would have walked barefoot on the warm sand like Kirk did. As the sand crunched beneath his shoes, he wondered if the potentially scorching hot sand would be worse than the sweltering heat within his shoes. The sea breeze was exponentially more pleasant though; to Kirk, it was a very slight breeze, but to Spock, it was just cool enough and strong enough to lower his body temperature to a more comfortable level.

The thing that was perhaps the most uncomfortable was the snugness of the jeans around his crotch. Normally the jeans fit him securely and comfortably, keeping everything in place without constricting him. Today it was a different story. Spock was unfortunate in the fact that his nether regions were still engorged with blood from that morning's earlier activities. Even the tiniest movement caused the denim to squeeze his member tightly, making the seemingly peaceful walk agonizing.

He looked over at Kirk, who was carrying his flip flops in his hands as they walked. The setting Kalthoria sun cast its golden light on the bronzed man as he stared at the beach ahead of them. His eyes twinkled and shined, looking more like the ocean than the water that splashed at his feet. Staring at Kirk, he didn't know why he had bothered going to the beach at all during their stay. Everything that made it beautiful was seen on a daily basis whenever he looked at Kirk.

Kirk felt Spock's eyes on him and looked back, aiming his ocean blue eyes at his beloved. Spock was bathed in another beam of sunshine as Kirk smiled at him. "You having a good time?" he asked.

Giving Kirk a smile that was equally as radiant but only showed a hint of the pearly teeth behind his lips, Spock replied, "I always have an enjoyable time when I am with you."

Laughing, Kirk asked, "Including last night?"

Spock reached over and intertwined their fingers, letting his love flow from him to Kirk. "Yes," he said softly, "including last night."

They climbed hand in hand to the top of a cliff over looking the ocean and sat down together at the edge. Salt water sprayed them as the waves crashed against rocks beneath them. They were fortunate that no one was in this spot today, as many people flocked to this area for a romantic view of the sun setting over the water. Then again, it was likely that many people were too busy trying to have as much fun as they could in the city since tonight would be their last night on Kalthoria.

Kirk rested his head on Spock's shoulder and smiled at the view before them. Spock's sizzling arm reached around him and pulled him closer to him. His body radiated enough heat to keep him warm had it been winter, but Kirk found no discomfort in it. He was used to Spock's intense heat and worried more when they were the same temperature.

For a while they simply sat in silence, enjoying the view and each other's company. Kirk was the one to break their silence, saying, "It's a shame this is the last night we'll get to enjoy this." Spock remained wordless but nodded his agreement. Pausing for a brief moment, Kirk asked, "Did you enjoy our shore leave?"

Spock turned to look at Kirk, who looked back at him with those shimmering blue eyes of his. Allowing himself a smirk, he replied, "You seem oddly self-conscious today. Is something concerning you?"

Kirk glanced away shyly. "Well, yeah. I mean, I know you enjoyed yourself on our anniversary, but I don't know about the rest of the week. And then there's what happened last night…"

A finger on Kirk's lips prevented any further doubts to spill out. Spock gave him an endearing look and said, "You know as well as I do that if I were having an adverse experience during our time here, I would have openly voiced my complaints. Our shore leave was an enjoyable one; prior to it I was never allowed the chance to explore new activities and gage their emotional effects on me."

Spock's finger slipped from Kirk's lips as he cupped his chin with his hand. He basked Kirk in a full smile, his perfect white teeth shining brightly in the setting sun. "Yet again, you have helped me to 'break out of my shell' as you humans say. Aside from my human heritage, that has proved to be the greatest gift anyone has given to me."

The space between their faces was bridged as their lips met in a tender kiss. Spock's hand moved from Kirk's face to the soft hair he loved so very much, his other hand slipping to the small of Kirk's back and pulling him closer. Spock leaned back and fell backwards onto the sand, taking Kirk with him. Kirk shifted his legs so that they straddled Spock's hips. A familiar hardness in the lower half of both men pressed into each other as their kiss became more passionate.

Kirk pulled back and took a moment to look at Spock, who was breathing hard and gazing up at him through half-closed eyes. Lust swirled in his dark eyes for a second time that day. Kirk chuckled and said, "You know, Sulu said he didn't want us to do anything while you're in his clothes."

No sooner than he said that did Kirk get flipped off of Spock onto his back. Their roles switched, Spock now towered over Kirk with a devious smile on his lips. "Lucky for him I had planned to remove our clothing in the first place."

* * *

Valerie and Jennings stood together on the balcony of Valerie's hotel room. Jennings' room was on a lower floor, so the view of the setting sun was better from hers. The wind gently caressed them as they looked at the ocean before them. Jennings' arm was wrapped tightly around Valerie's waist, absentmindedly stroking the soft fabric of her shirt with his thumb.

"This week blew by so fast," Valerie said. "I almost don't want to go back to the Enterprise."

Jennings laughed lightly. "Don't kid yourself Val, you love the Enterprise and you love your job."

She smiled and looked at Jennings. "Not as much as I love you."

"That's good to hear," Jennings said. He removed his arm from around her and pulled a small box out of his pocket. Sinking slowly to the ground and placing one knee on the floor, he opened the box to reveal a small gold ring with five sparkling diamonds. Valerie's eyes grew wide. She clapped one hand over her mouth, not wanting it to continue gaping open in surprise. With her other hand, she grasped tightly onto the railing, as she had suddenly gone weak in the knees.

They had been together for a year and a half, first taking an interest in each other after the party in the recreation room. He had fallen in love with her shortly thereafter, but she took longer to be caught in the waves of romance despite how wonderfully affectionate and loving he was. When she finally did fall in love though, she fell hard. She couldn't stop thinking about him and looked forward to spending time with him after their shifts ended. They even negotiated with their superiors to have shifts scheduled at the same time so they could see each other more. She had dropped hints that she was thinking of spending the rest of her life with him, but she never expected him to purpose during their shore leave.

"Trevor," she said, almost whispering his first name. "When did…"

"When did I find the time to buy you a ring?" he said, asking her question for her. She nodded. Grinning, he said, "Remember that day we dedicated to spend time separately with our friends? While I was out, I picked out this ring and bought it. I knew you wouldn't suspect anything if I did it then.

"So Valerie," he said, gathering all his courage to finally ask the question. "Will you marry me?"

Valerie dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Jennings. She planted kisses all over his face and hugged him tightly. Her laughter was rooted in the immense happiness that filled her heart. He returned the hug with the open box still in his hand. "So…what's your answer?"

She pulled back and looked at him with a huge smile on her face. "What do you think my answer is?!?"

"Well, I'd like to have a verbal answer, since I'll only get to ask this once…"

"_Yes!_ Of course it's yes!" she said, throwing her arms back around him and laughing again. They held each other for a moment longer and then pulled apart. She took the ring and slipped it onto her left ring finger. It was a little tight and took a little effort to put on, but once it passed her knuckle, it twinkled brightly against her caramel colored skin.

"Sorry if it's a little snug," he said, noticing the trouble she had putting it on. "I didn't know your ring size so I guessed."

She kissed him on the lips and smiled again. "Its fine honey," she reassured him. "I love it."

She hugged him tightly one last time and then rose to her feet. Jennings watched her as she ran over to the door and cried out, "Hey wait! Where are you going?!?"

Stopping just in front of the door as it opened, she said, "Where else? I'm going to go brag to my friends!" She waved him over and added, "Come on, come with me!"

Smirking, Jennings shook his head and rose to his feet. Walking over to where Valerie stood, he took her by the hand and left the room to spread the good news.

* * *

Chekov stood inside the hotel, staring out the large window by the elevators. The night before was still weighing heavily on his mind. Why had he allowed himself to be seduced by Eliza? He knew that she and Sulu were getting serious with their relationship, so how could he let himself be swayed so easily? He was disgusted with himself; when he went to the bathroom that night to clean up, he couldn't bear to see his own face in the mirror.

Of course, as soon as they were done, Eliza slinked back out of the room as quickly and quietly as she had come in. His grand belief that his virginity would be sweet and romantic was shattered by her swift retreat. The bed felt so much colder after she left the room to return to Sulu's side. Was that really what he wanted? Was casual sex good enough for him? Was he so desperate for any kind of companionship that he'd be satisfied with whatever he got? More so, was it worth the heartache it would cause his best friend when he found out?

Yes, _when _he found out, not if. Sulu wasn't stupid by any means, nor was he oblivious. Eliza flirted with them both blatantly, so naturally after a while Sulu would become suspicious. Once the accusations began to fly, Chekov couldn't guarantee that he would be able to hide the truth from him.

He made a vow to himself that this was the first and last time he would conduct himself in such away. If Eliza tried seducing her way into his bedroom again, he'd put his foot down and send her out. He'd put her in her place and appeal to her human conscience, since what she was doing was acceptable to her Orion half.

An elevator pinged to his right. When he turned his head to see who was leaving the elevator, he saw Anja's face. Recognizing him immediately, she gave a small wave and walked over to him. She smiled radiantly at him and said, "So, we meet again Mr. Pavel Chekov. Enjoying the sunset?"

Chekov's shyness kicked in as soon as he heard her speak. He bowed his head and nodded. "Yes," he said in a small voice. "Eet's a very beautiful sight. I hawe seen eet eweryday since we came here and yet I still cannot help but to take the time to admire eet wherever I am."

"I agree," Anja said, clasping her hands behind her cutely. While she stared out the window, Chekov took a moment to admire the way the sun's orange glow reflected on her cream colored skin. Anja felt his eyes on her and looked back at him. Embarrassed that he had been caught staring at her he quickly turned away and blushed.

Anja giggled lightly. "You don't have to hide the fact that you're looking at me Pavel," she reassured him.

Chekov's ears glowed brightly as he gave her a sheepish smile. "I am sorry. I was taught you shouldn't stare at a woman, no matter how beautiful they may be. However, like ze sunset, I cannot help but admire your beauty."

It was now Anja's turn to blush. Not only had Chekov compared her to the sunset, but she also had verbal confirmation that Chekov found her attractive. She smiled nervously and decided to change the subject. "So…is there a reason you're admiring the sunset down here instead of from your room? I would think the view from up there would be more satisfying than it is down here."

The smile disappeared from Chekov's face. He stared out the window once more, no longer wanting to make eye contact with Anja. "I…I hawe a lot on my mind. I do not feel comfortable een my room right now."

Anja nodded slowly in understanding. She didn't feel right asking him to talk about his problems since they had just met each other the day before, but she didn't want to just leave him in such a sad mood. "Hey," she said, placing her hand on his arm as she had the night before. "I was going to try and find something to do tonight, but all my friends are busy. Since you're not doing anything, why don't we go catch dinner or something?"

Chekov's eyes widened and sparkled when he looked at Anja. Could she be asking him on an unofficial date? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Chekov couldn't let the opportunity slip from him now that it was in front of him. Giving a confident smile, he nodded and said, "I would like zat. I would like zat a lot."

They stood smiling at each other for a moment before turning toward the staircase and walking together. Anja slipped her arm around Chekov's and gave him one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen. He felt his heart skip a beat; perhaps he would finally get the kind of companionship he had been seeking.

* * *

McCoy cursed himself for his culinary ineptitude. If he ever believed for a moment that he could be a chef, the fiasco before him soundly put that thought to rest. Then again, perhaps it was his unfamiliarity with how to prepare the foreign food he had chosen for the dinner that was the cause of his trouble. The formerly pristine stove top was now splattered with Christmas colored stains, the sad result of his attempt to cook the Kalthorian equivalent of mashed potatoes and collard greens. Maybe if he had looked up the directions for cooking Dodekan roots and Gunsa leaves he would have fared better.

Fortunately, nothing was burnt, or at least if anything _was _burnt, it didn't smell like it was. However, as McCoy fanned the plumes of white smoke that billowed out of the pots in front of him, he couldn't help but feel like he was doing _something _wrong. The roast in the oven seemed like it was cooking properly, but like any other meat, one never could tell until they cut into it and tasted it. It could turn out to be dry or undercooked or completely flavorless.

He felt like a moron for even suggesting that Chapel come by to enjoy dinner with him on their last night staying in Kalthoria. What possessed him to do that? He had no clue how to cook any of the things he had picked for the dinner; he prayed to God that everything worked out, and if it didn't, he prayed that it wouldn't land him and Chapel in the local hospital getting their stomach pumped.

A tap on the shoulder while he fussed over the food almost caused his heart to leap out of his chest. He spun around to see who was crazy enough to sneak up on him in his current position and came face to face with a smiling Chapel.

"Christine!" McCoy cried, clearly flustered by her appearance when he was far from prepared to serve dinner. "What are you doing here so early?!? I told you to come by at 19:00! It's only 18:40!"

"I know," she said, "but I wanted to watch you while you were cooking."

McCoy groaned. "Well, if you like seeing a grown man flailing around like a headless chicken in the kitchen then you're in for quite a show!"

Christine giggled and stood on tip toe to see behind him. "If you're having trouble, I could always help."

"Oh, like that's not cliché," McCoy said sarcastically. "I didn't invite you over to slave over the hot stove; I invited you over to enjoy my cooking…"

"…which you said you were having trouble with. I know my way around a kitchen and could help."

"You'll do no such thing!" McCoy said, putting his hands on his hips. "If I wanted you to do the cooking, I would've gone to your room, not have you come all the way up here to mine! Now, if you had come when you were supposed to, you wouldn't even know I'm having trouble getting dinner cooked, so why don't you sit down on the couch or something and let me finish, huh?"

Chapel ignored McCoy's requests and pushed past him. She looked at the steaming pots on the stove and stifled a chuckled at the green and red stains on the stove top. She grabbed the spoon McCoy was using and stir the contents of the two pots. McCoy turned around and gaped at her as she blatantly disregarded his request. "Hey, didn't I just say…"

"I can handle things from here Leonard," Chapel said, cutting McCoy off. "If you want to do something, why don't you set the table while I finish things up?"

McCoy's mouth worked as he tried to come up with the words to say to her, but could find none. Sighing, he went to the cupboard to grab the necessary dishes to set the table. He didn't know how their roles had gotten flipped, but he found himself very thankful he suggested going to the café for dessert instead of trying to make it himself.

* * *

"Well, that's exciting!" Scotty said as Valerie and Jennings made their way out of the café. They had heard that from Eliza that Scotty and Uhura were having dinner at the nearby café and rushed over to tell them the good news about their engagement. After sharing the news, they decided to go to dinner and dancing downtown to celebrate.

"Indeed it is," Uhura said, putting her elbows on the table and propping her head up with her hands. She gave a small smile at Scotty and asked, "Have you ever considered getting married Scotty?"

Scotty choked on the wine he was in the middle of drinking when Uhura asked her question. He coughed into a closed fist and struggled to catch his breath. When he did, he stared at Uhura with wide eyes. "Wh-why do ye ask that?!?" Scotty stuttered.

Uhura laughed and said, "I was curious since you're older than me. Besides it's nice to know for future reference. You know, in case things between us last long enough for me to consider it myself."

"Oh," Scotty said, placing a hand on his chest and letting out a sigh of relief. "Ye had me scared there fer a wee bit! Ah mean, ah know that we finally made things official between us durin' shore leave, but talkin' about getting' married is a little…well, premature, ye know?!?"

"Oh, yeah, I completely agree," Uhura said as she leaned back in her chair and threw up her hands. She gave him an apologetic smirk and said, "Sorry to scare you like that. I was totally speaking generally, not specifically."

Scotty took a long drink from his glass and nodded. "Right, o' course not! That would be silly!"

Fortunately for the two who had just shared a very awkward moment, Scotty spotted Chekov walking with a girl by his side. He leaned forward and whispered, "Nyota! Look!"

Uhura turned her head toward the direction Scotty looked in and dropped her jaw in surprise. "Oh my…when did Chekov get a girlfriend?"

"Ye've got me lass," Scotty said. "Do ye recognize her?"

Squinting, Uhura tried to see if she recognized her. She thought of the girls she knew that had cream colored skin and red hair and gasped. "That's Anja Liubov! She's friends with Janice and Jeannette! I don't get how they could've met though! She's always stuck in engineering, and when she's not there she helps with security!"

Scotty leaned even further forward and dropped his jaw as well. "Ye're right! That _is _Anja! Ah dinnae recognize her at first!" He tilted his head. "Ah never expected her ta go fer Chekov…ah'm rather surprised."

"You and me both..."

Not long after Anja and Chekov disappeared from sight they saw Kirk and Spock walking hand in hand back toward the hotel. Their clothing looked extremely rumbled and even from their distance they could see sand all over them. Scotty and Uhura smirked at each other and said nothing more. Nothing needed to be said about those two; one look at their disheveled appearance and how they hung off of each other tiredly told them showed exactly what they had just finished doing.

Uhura and Scotty resumed their dinner together and conversed about other things, like some of the things they did while they were apart and funny things they talked about with their friends. They were about to order a dessert when they saw McCoy and Chapel walking toward them. Uhura's face lit up at the sight of them. She raised her arm and waved broadly to catch their attention. Seeing her, they waved back and came to sit with them at their table.

"How was dinner?" Uhura asked when they settled in to their seats. "Is McCoy as good a cook as he is a doctor?"

McCoy and Chapel exchanged a look and smirked. "Well," McCoy said, "It seems my culinary skills are more attuned to Earth ingredients only. Christine on the other hand seems like she could become a galactic chef if she decides not to go the medical route with her career."

"I had to take over," Chapel clarified. "I also had to clean the mess he made of the stove. Luckily I came by early, so the food wasn't too far gone to save. He's promised to cook me a proper meal sometime in the future."

"Makin' future plans eh?" Scotty smirked. "Well, who woulda thought?"

As McCoy turned a bright pink, Jariden appeared at their table. His face lit up when he saw that McCoy and Chapel had joined Scotty and Uhura. "Well!" he said happily. "It is good to see you again! Have you come to place an order?"

"Yes, we've come for dessert," McCoy said. "Can we get a dessert menu?"

To their surprise, Jariden shook his head. With a wide smile on his face, he said, "No dessert menu is needed my friends. I will bring you our most popular dessert, a cobber filled with Enig berries and Sirian Fruit! It is to _die_ for! Oh, and I'll also bring you all another bottle of our wine!"

A rolled up newspaper hit Jariden over the head. Walking into view from behind him was a shorter female version of him. She crossed her arms and shook her head at Jariden. "Brother dear, what have I told you about being so friendly with our customers? If you keep giving away our wine, you'll put us out of business!"

"But Areida…" Jariden whimpered, his ears pinned back, "they're so nice! And they're friends of Astinder too!"

"Yes Jariden, but you've been giving bottles of wine to every single member of her crew that's come here to eat! Do you realize how much profit we've lost from your little 'gifts'?"

Jariden whined and received another sound bop on the head with the rolled up newspaper. He grabbed his head and held in the tears that threatened to fall from his big brown eyes. "Why are you so mean?"

"Because you're too nice," Areida answered. "Now go get them that cobbler so they can enjoy their dessert. You can bring them each a complementary glass of wine to go with it since the flavor of the wine complements the cobbler, but only _one_ for each of them, and they still have to purchase the dessert_. _Is that satisfactory?"

His face lit up when he heard that he could still give them free wine with their dessert. Areida turned to the smirking group of young humans and sighed. "I apologize for my brother's overzealousness. He tends to become overly attached to our customers like that."

"No problem at all," Scotty said with a smile. "It's nice ta have such a friendly server."

"You're too kind," Areida said, returning the smile. "Just don't let him hear that or you'll encourage his behavior. I am glad that you've enjoyed your meals here though."

Jariden hurried back to the table with a tray holding four glasses of wine and four steaming plates of the freshly made cobbler. He carefully placed each plate and glass in front of his patrons and then held his tray tightly. "Please, do try it while I'm here! And be certain to take a sip of the wine after your first bite!" Areida glared irritably at her younger brother, whose rapidly wagging tail was hitting her in her leg. His attention was so fixated on the group before him that he didn't even notice it.

They did as Jariden instructed and took a bite of the cobbler. The warmth of the cobbler spread to every part of their body, covering them gently in a soothing warm sensation reminiscent of a mother's embrace. The sip of the wine that followed added a refreshing burst of flavor that washed over them like a wave from the ocean. The same dreamy look appeared on all four of their faces, much to Jariden's delight.

"Ah! They like it! I can tell they like it! Oh this is so exciting! I'm so happy!"

"Jariden…" Areida said warningly. Jariden's ears pressed against his head again briefly at his sister's unspoken reprimand. "Now that you've seen their reaction, let's leave them to their dessert."

"Yes sister," Jariden said, reluctantly turning and walking away with her. Before they re-entered the café, he gave another glance at their table. Ears perked upward and tail wagging, he went back inside the café.

The dessert and wine was so divine that once again they ate in silence. When the last crumb had been finished, they all leaned back in their chairs and sighed contentedly. Areida returned to refill their glasses, adding with a wink, "The refill is free as well. Just don't tell Jariden I did it."

They all smiled back at her and raised their refilled glasses. McCoy said, "Well, tomorrow we return to the Enterprise. It was a relaxing trip that was enjoyed by all. Here's hoping that it leaves a lasting beneficial effect on the crew."

"Here's to Kirk and Spock," Chapel chimed in. "May their engagement continue to go well and may their eventual marriage be a beautiful one."

"And the same to Valerie and Jennings," Uhura added.

"An' let's not ferget our friend Mr. Chekov, who might be findin' love of his own as well!" Scotty said.

The four clinked their glasses together and gave a resounding "Cheers!" before drinking their freshly poured wine.

The sun finally went down over Ninolgog City as the members of the Enterprise enjoyed their final day on the beautiful planet of Kalthoria. Their peaceful stay in paradise would end the next day, returning them to their duties aboard the Enterprise. Though they were reluctant to leave, they were thoroughly pleased with the time they were granted to remember what it was like to enjoy each other's company and spend their days carefree and happy.


	15. Questionable Behavior

**Ch 14: Questionable Behavior  
**

A breathless Kirk gasped for air as he held on tightly to his bathroom sink and looked at himself in the mirror. Beads of sweat clung to his tanned skin, rolling down his face. Large dark red splotches were randomly placed on his body: several clusters on his neck, a couple on his chest near his nipples, a large one on his stomach, and several more clusters on his inner thighs. Long red stripes ran from his shoulder down to his elbows from where Spock had raked his finger nails. When he turned around, he saw several paths of similar marks on his shoulder blades and back.

Facing the mirror again, Kirk shook his head at the damage Spock had wrecked on his body. Five hours ago they had begun their mini Sex Olympics, and after expending more bodily fluids than his body really should have, he had been permitted to go clean up while the Vulcan slept. Spock had become slightly more adventurous and courageous in the bedroom since their first time together, but the savagery he had just displayed was one Kirk never expected from him. He feared he wouldn't be able to sit properly for at least a week, maybe more.

He sighed as he wondered how he'd ever be able to hide the marks on his neck. Wearing a turtleneck or a scarf would be far too obvious, and considering they had been wandering through space at warp 1 for the last five days, he couldn't blame it on a mishap during a planetary exploration. That only left two options: one, appeal to one of the female officers and ask to borrow makeup until the marks faded, or two, sport his marks like badges of honor.

Which of the female officers was the closest to his complexion?

By now it was terribly obvious that there was indeed something wrong with Spock. Not only was he initiating sex on a far too common basis, he was also showing signs of irritability. His sensitivity to touch was persisting and if anything got worse after coming back onto the Enterprise five days ago. The light flush his skin had the night after he was scratched by the female Felisian Astinder referred to as Theca had deepened to a rich green color.

The infuriating part was Spock was refusing to be evaluated by McCoy. Every time Kirk suggested it he feared he would be decapitated. Funny enough, just as soon as Spock would snap at him, the next moment he'd be purring seductively at him. At times like this Spock was very easy to compare to a female experiencing Pre-Menstrual Syndrome. It was an understatement to say that emotionally Spock was running hot and cold. To be more accurate, it was like all of his emotions were connected to a switchboard and a demented fool was at the controls, flipping switches haphazardly without thinking of the consequences.

More concerning was Spock's complete abandonment of discretion. It seemed their previous agreement to uphold a professional relationship when on duty or generally out in public had bee thrown out the window and left to float aimlessly in space. The incident that led to them having sex in his quarters for four hours stood out in Kirk's mind…

Kirk and Spock walked together down the hall after playing several games of chess in the recreation room. For some reason, Kirk had managed to win four games of chess in a row, all without making more than seven moves on his part. In any other situation, he'd simply brag that he was becoming so skilled at the game that he was now a real match for Spock, but it didn't seem that way as they played. It seemed as though Spock simply couldn't focus on the game in front of him. Or rather, his attention was more on Kirk than on the game itself.

Spock's searing gaze had been fixated on Kirk since they first set the board up in the recreation room to play. When he made his moves, he made them quickly and haphazardly, as if he weren't even thinking them through. It unnerved Kirk to be stared at so intently by his fiancé, but he did his best not to focus on it. After their fourth game, he suggested they leave the recreation room and find something else to do.

It bothered him that he was allowed to win so easily. Not only was it annoying that Spock wasn't even putting any effort into the game, but one of Kirk's pet peeves was to have others allow him to win, whether it was intentional or not. He loved a challenge and Spock both knew that and felt the same way. Something had to be wrong with him for him to be so non-complacent during one of their favorite pastimes.

Despite his uncertainty about whether it was wise to inquire about Spock's current state, Kirk decided he deserved an answer. "Spock," he said as casually as he could allow himself, "was your mind elsewhere while we were playing chess?"

To his surprise, Spock replied, "Yes, you are correct. I regret that I was unable to focus on the games we played, hence why you were able to win four games in a row. If I were not compromised as I am now, certainly the outcome would have been much different."

Kirk raised an eyebrow at Spock. "Compromised? Like how? You're not starting to feel sick are you?" Kirk felt like an idiot for asking that. He knew Spock couldn't have been feeling well. His skin had turned a much darker shade of green since they left Kalthoria and his body temperature was borderline scorching.

Without warning, Spock pushed Kirk against the wall in the hallway and pinned him against it with both of his arms. Kirk stared back at Spock with fear in his eyes. The look on Spock's face was the same as it was when he attacked Kirk on the bridge on their first mission together, a look he had hoped not to see directed at him again.

"The only thing I am sick of is your constant badgering," Spock growled. "I do not need you tending to me like a mother hen."

He lifted his hand toward Kirk's face, making Kirk flinch. Kirk closed his eyes and braced himself for whatever pain he was about to feel but the pain never came. What he felt was sizzling hot fingers cupping his chin and a thumb stroking his bottom lip. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that the rage in Spock's eyes had transformed into dark desire.

"What I need," Spock rasped, "is to feel myself inside of you."

"Spock," Kirk breathed, trying to think straight as Spock's other hand slipped behind him and grasped on to his right butt cheek. "N-not here…"

"Why not? You asked what was wrong with me; I am merely explaining myself and attempting to correct the problem." He leaned forward and sucked on bottom lip, his hand slipping to the back of Kirk's head and pulling him closer. Though Spock's eyes were closed, Kirk's were wide open and flitting from side to side. Out of the corners of his eyes he could see crew members slowing their pace to stare or stopping all together to watch in shock as Spock ravaged their captain in plain sight.

Kirk's arms slid up Spock's chest and attempted to push him away, but Spock wouldn't allow himself to be denied his desire. He turned his head and gasped, "Spock, this isn't appropriate…people are watching us…"

Bringing his lips from Kirk's mouth to Kirk's ear, he whispered, "Let them watch. I will be certain to give them a satisfactory show."

The hot feeling of Spock's hand stroking the bulge that formed against his will between his legs cut Kirk's breath from his lungs. He struggled desperately with his thoughts as Spock also assaulted his neck with enthusiastic nibbles. He had to find a way to cease Spock's relentless attack of his erogenous zones while his crew members watched. There was only one thing he could think of that would successfully distract him: going into captain mode.

"_Spock!_" he shouted, finally managing to get Spock to stop stroking his crotch and nibbling his neck. Spock pulled back and stared at Kirk in surprise, now very aware of what he was doing. Kirk didn't give him a chance to respond though. "I _order_ you to stop fondling me where everyone else can see! Your actions are inappropriate and if they continue I will have security escort you to your quarters! Do I make myself clear?!?"

Kirk saw Spock's resolve falter, much to his relief. He was finally reaching him, and not a moment too soon. If things had progressed any further, he wouldn't have been able to control himself.

"Understood Captain," Spock said in his usual cool, compliant tone of voice. Kirk breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Spock lower his hands and the crew members that had stopped to watch continue about their own business. While he hadn't prevented anyone from seeing them in such a manner, he at least halted things before they became more heated.

Unexpectedly, Kirk felt himself be hoisted from the ground and thrown over Spock's shoulder. "We will simply continue this in your quarters." Securing him with strong arms, Spock broke into a run and ran with the speed of lightning down the hall, masterfully avoiding shocked crew members as he did.

Five hours later Kirk was in his current state, sweaty, tired, and sore. He released his grip on the sink and turned the shower on. Stepping into the shower, he let the hot water soak into his sore muscles. Sadly the water could do nothing for how much his ass hurt from the five hours of sex he had just endured.

Kirk didn't linger long in the shower; he cleaned the sweat and stench of sex off of him and promptly turned the water off. He grabbed a towel from the nearby towel rack and quickly dried himself off. As tired as he was and as much as McCoy would hate hearing about their romp between the sheets, he had to talk to him. This wasn't going to be a simple divulgence of how steamy their sex was; Kirk had some serious concerns about Spock. For him to completely abandon discretion the way he did earlier proved there was indeed something wrong with him and the only person who could really help was McCoy.

When Kirk left the bathroom Spock was still dead asleep. However, instead of silently sleeping on his side as he usually did, Spock was sprawled on his back, his mouth hanging open and snoring loudly. _Well, _Kirk thought, _that clinches it. Spock __**never **__sleeps like that. There's __**definitely **__something wrong with him._

Tiptoeing across the room to his dresser, he slipped on a clean uniform and snuck out of the room. He relaxed once the door closed behind him and made his way to sick bay. If he couldn't convince Spock to go see Doctor McCoy and be examined, he'd have to bring McCoy to him…perhaps along with a few security guards, just in case.

He tried his best to walk normally to sick bay, but his ass was so sore he involuntary walked with his legs spread apart. Everyone he passed gave him either a strange look or stifled a giggle, much to his dismay. At least the way he walked drew everyone's attention away from the massive hickeys on his neck.

Just his luck, he passed by Jake and Russell on the way to sick bay. They immediately saw the awkward way Kirk was walking and rushed over to him to tease him. They both put their arms around his shoulders and gave him their best shit eating grins. "Weeell, looks like someone had too much fun with Commander Spock!" Russell said loudly.

"Indeed it does!" Jake said, gently poking Kirk in his sore ribs. "Must have gotten so much loving he can't help but walk around like John Wayne!"

"Who the hell is John Wayne?" Kirk groaned. He wasn't in the mood for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum's obnoxiousness at the moment.

"Aw come on!" Russell replied. "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of genius? Surely a farm boy like you would know about John Wayne! He was _only _one of the most famous western movie actors of the 20th century! Didn't you _ace _20th century history back at the academy?!?"

Kirk grumbled, "Maybe if I didn't feel like I had been impaled by a telephone pole I'd have remembered…"

"Oooh, a telephone pole huh?" Jake smirked. "Well aren't you lucky!" As he looked down at his captain, he noticed a rather large red mark on his neck. He touched a finger to it lightly, making Kirk flinch and cringe at the same time.

Jake laughed and said, "Apparently Spock takes a bit of a liking to your neck, Captain! If I didn't know you had just come out of the bedroom I'd say you had a really bad rash as red as this side of your neck is!"

"Hey, this side of his neck matches too!" Russell grinned as he pointed to the other side of Kirk's neck.

Now Kirk's entire face was turning red, not out of embarrassment, but out of irritation. Through gritted teeth, he said, "If you're done having a laugh at my expense, I'd like to see Doctor McCoy…"

Smirking, Jake said, "If all you're going for is advice on how to make your ass stop hurting so much, _I _can give you advice about _that_. All you gotta do is…"

"…I do _not _want to hear about how you make your ass stop hurting after you get fucked by Russell!" Kirk shouted. The pairs of eyes that snapped toward him after he shouted made him realize he had said that way louder than he should have. Lowering his voice, he said, "I have other concerns I need to address with Doctor McCoy. Would you two _please_ quit bothering me so I can go to sick bay? Or will I need to make it an order?"

The two larger men reluctantly removed their arms. Russell gave a sloppy salute and said, "We're sorry, _sir_. We won't bother you again."

Kirk rolled his eyes and wobbled away back in the direction of sick bay. Russell and Jake simply exchanged smirks and continued about their way.

The sick bay was empty when Kirk arrived, which turned out to be a very comforting sight. The office to McCoy's office was open and from where he stood he could see him and Chapel conversing over a data pad. More than likely it had information pertaining to one of their patients that they had recently seen.

He was about to call out to McCoy when McCoy noticed his entrance. McCoy excused himself and walked out of his office to see what it was Kirk wanted. "Jim! What can I do for you? Have you figured out a way to get Spock to my office so I can evaluate him?"

Groaning, Kirk shook his head. "No, but I think we need to do something. His condition has deteriorated since we left."

McCoy noticed the marks on Kirk's neck and leaned in closer to examine them. His eyebrows rose when he noticed teeth marks at the center of the large red marks. He then narrowed his eyes and looked at Kirk, who was turning pink.

"Jim, did he hurt you?"

"Uh, yes and no Bones…do you want the grizzly details or a skim over?"

Chapel had walked out of McCoy's office and was listening from his door way, her data pad still in her hands. McCoy's eyes shifted back and forth as he debated this. The doctor in him demanded to know exactly what happened, but the best friend in him would wind up rocking back and forth in a corner if it was even hinted to. Unfortunately for him, the doctor side dominated in this situation; if both Kirk's and Spock's health was in question, then he would need to what was going on in full.

He took a deep breath and said, "Give me as much details as you can without being…well…"

"I catch your meaning," Kirk said. "Well, to illustrate some of my points, I'm, uh, I'm going to have to remove all my clothing except for my underwear."

McCoy's face paled save a small tint of pink along his cheeks. He cleared his throat and said, "Alright, well Chapel and I will return to my office until you're finished. When you're done have a seat on one of the medical beds and call for us if you would."

Kirk nodded and waited for McCoy to walk back into his office with Chapel. When the door closed, he carefully removed his shirt and pants and then walked over to the medical bed. He grabbed the sheet off of the bed and wrapped it around him so that the first thing they saw wasn't the marks on his body. Gently climbing onto the medical bed and swinging his legs over the side, he called out, "I'm all done!"

Both Chapel and McCoy walked out of the room and over to where Kirk sat on the medical beds. With an eyebrow arched on his forehead, McCoy crossed his arms and said, "Okay mister, start explaining."

Kirk took a deep breath and began his explanation. "Alright. Since we came back from Kalthoria, Spock has steadily become more irritable and emotional. One minute he's calm and collected; the next he's yelling, and the next he's crying. More noticeable on my part has been his, uh, increased sexual enthusiasm. I know you don't really wanna know about our sexual habits, but since we became more serious, we tend to have sex maybe two or three times a week. Obviously if we're in a high stress situation, we do it less than that, but that's about the average.

"Since we've been back, he's been initiating sex on a daily basis. It's not unusual for him to initiate, but it's a little more common on my end. He's usually not very open with any displays of affection either, but just today he pressed me against the wall in the hallway and began…uh…initiating things in front of everyone. I had to order him to stop, and when I did, he flung me over his shoulder and ran me to my room to continue."

Chapel stifled a laugh while McCoy closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

Whenever he's initiated it lately, he's been…well…kinda violent. Not like beating me up or anything just…" He sighed. "I guess I should just show you…"

Unwrapping the sheet from around him, he revealed the marks that still lingered on his body from their last round of sex. Both McCoy and Chapel gasped at the sight of multiple hickies and scratch marks on Kirk's body.

"Holy…" McCoy said. "What the hell kind of sex are you two having?!?"

"Five hours worth," Kirk answered, chuckling at the surprised looks on both McCoy's and Chapel's face. "Trust me, this is _far _from the norm. Hickies are normal, but never in this abundance. He's usually discrete with their placement. As for the scratch marks, that's _definitely _a new addition. And no, five hours for sex is _not _normal for us either."

"Should I even ask about any internal damage?" McCoy asked.

"I'm sure you can imagine what five hours of sex can do to someone internally Bones. Needless to say I had Russell and Jake comparing me to John Wayne on my way here."

Chapel looked at McCoy with a confused expression on her face. "Who's John Wayne?"

McCoy tilted his head toward Chapel and replied, "He was a 20th century actor famous for his multiple roles as a cowboy."

"Aaah." She gave a knowing nod and said nothing more.

Returning his attention to Kirk, McCoy asked, "So if we're certain that Spock's condition is linked to the scratch he received on Kalthoria, how do we analyze him to determine a treatment if he refuses to be seen by me?"

"I don't know," Kirk sighed. "Any time I mention it he gets emotional. If he's getting worse, I don't think I can take the risk of mentioning it again. Considering his state of mind, I don't think sneaking up on him with a hypospray would work like it did with Gabriel either."

"You don't think that somehow the damage from the scratch Mr. Spock received is causing a relapse do you?" Chapel asked.

McCoy shook his head. "Hard to tell. It's imperative that we get him in here and examine him! If he gets any worse, he could put the entire crew in danger!"

* * *

Spock stirred in Kirk's bed, sleep slowly fading away from him. In his head, Gabriel's voice echoed: **The bed feels cold. Unusually cold. Why does it feel so cold? **

Spock tried to look around and take in his surroundings, but found it difficult. _Our eyes are blurry, _he heard his younger counterpart say._ It is hard to see. We should rub our eyes. _Taking young Spock's suggestion, he raised his hands to his eyes and gently rubbed the veil of sleep away. When he lowered his hands, he could see more clearly. _There, that is better. _

With clear eyes, he looked around the room and saw he was the only one there. The two personalities continued to converse in his head as he stared blankly at the empty space around him.

**Wait a minute…where's Jim?**

_Unknown. Last we saw of him he had gone to the lavatory to cleanse himself after…_

**After Spock screwed his brains out?**

_A crude way of putting it, but yes. Given his state of fatigue, he should have been in the bed with us, but he was not when we awoke._

**Where the hell could he have gone?**

_Logically, given Spock's current behavior and the marks he left on Jim's body, Jim must have gone to sick bay to be treated._

**I'm sure McCoy is gonna looooove hearing all the gorey details of how Jim got those marks.**

_I assure you he will most likely be very displeased at the news. Jim knows something is wrong with Spock._

**Anyone with eyes can tell that…**

Spock rose from the bed and put his clothing back on. Fully clothed, he left Jim's room and made his way to sick bay. Gabriel attempted to communicate with Spock: **Hey Spock, shouldn't you be going back to our room? You know, to clean up? You reek of sex…**

No response from Spock. It was peculiar that Spock would deliberately remain silent when Gabriel tried to communicate with him. Actually, it was rather peculiar that Gabriel was able to talk with him outside of meditation at all. Since the three of them merged together, Spock made a point in communicating with his alternate personalities during meditation. It kept him in tune with the different aspects of his subconscious that he sometimes ignored and allowed him to balance himself. The fact that Gabriel was even able to talk to Spock outside of meditation was concerning to his younger self.

_Wait, this is wrong, _his younger self said, dropping the formality in his voice._ We shouldn't be able to communicate with him right now. Something isn't right…perhaps it is good that we're going to sick bay. While we are there, we can have Doctor McCoy examine us._

**Yeah, its looking like that scratch had more than just physical effects on his body…**

_Indeed. His body temperature is much higher than it should be and his emotional state is questionable at best. Oddly enough he hasn't meditated once since we returned to the Enterprise. I'm beginning to fear the worse…_

Just as Spock reached the door for sick bay and made his way in, Gabriel added, **Well, here's hoping he comes to his senses and allows McCoy to check him out…**

* * *

Kirk, McCoy, and Chapel all faced the door when they heard it open. In a very rumbled uniform stood Spock. Strangely, he seemed rather vacant in appearance, as if he were in a trance of some sort. His eyes were fixed on Kirk and did not waver away from him.

"Spock?" McCoy said. "Hey, are you alright?"

McCoy walked over to Spock and reached out his hand. Without warning, Spock grabbed McCoy's hand and squeezed hard. The bones in McCoy's hand began to crack from the strength of Spock's grasp. His mouth open in a pained cry, he squeezed his eyes shut and began falling to his knees.

"Spock!" Kirk shouted. "What the hell are you doing?!? Let McCoy go!"

Obediently, Spock's grip loosened on McCoy's hand. McCoy dropped to the floor and held his injured hand close to his chest. Eyes still vacant, Spock moved toward the medical bed that Kirk sat on, picked him up, and threw him back over his shoulder again.

"Whoa! What the hell?!? Put me down! Let me go right now Spock!"

This time Spock didn't listen to Kirk. Instead he turned around and headed toward the door to leave. Chapel quickly put her data pad down and grabbed a hypospray filled with a heavy dose of anesthetic. She rushed over to Spock just as the door opened and jabbed him in the neck with it. Spock's eyes flew open briefly then fell closed. McCoy rushed over to grab Spock around the waist with his free arm before he could fall to the floor. Chapel helped Kirk get down from Spock's shoulder and then moved to help McCoy support the Vulcan's limp body.

"Help me get him on a medical table," McCoy said.

They dragged him over to the same table Kirk had just sat on and lifted him onto it. Kirk rushed over and helped lay him down on top of it.

"Nurse, place him in restraints. If he wakes up and becomes violent, I want him held down so he doesn't hurt anyone."

"Aye, Doctor," she said, speaking to him professionally. She pulled the straps from the sides of the medical table and secured the Vulcan to the bed. She then rushed to get the appropriate tools to treat McCoy's injured hand.

McCoy sighed and said, "Well, I _did _want him in the sick bay so I could examine him. Guess I should be careful what I wish for…"


	16. Blood Fever

**Ch 15: Blood Fever**

"When that green-blooded pain in the ass comes to, remind me to sock him in the face for not coming to me sooner."

McCoy turned around to face Chapel and a now clothed Kirk, anger plain on his face. He jabbed a finger at the screen that displayed the results from Spock's blood test. "I've officially identified the aphrodisiac as an extract from a Felisian plant known as Liliandra's Rose. It's been used by female Felisian mercenaries for years to sway enemies to their side temporarily in order to assist them as needed with their missions. They use it only if their natural feminine charm doesn't work, but coat their nails with it just in case it's needed. In more recent times it's been used by Felisian prostitutes for rather obvious reasons…

"As I suspected, the sunscreen was the source of the quarternium, which is what caused Spock's initial sensitivity to any and all things that touched him. Quarternium normally causes contact dermatitis, but with Spock's mixed heritage, it simply made his skin very sensitive to the touch. However, Spock is no longer exhibiting signs of the skin sensitivity; rather he's running a very high fever, something that can't be caused by the quarternium itself.

"Now that I finally got a chance to take a sample of Spock's blood without him punching someone, I found another chemical from the sunscreen in his blood that the Feinberger didn't pick up on when I scanned him back on Kalthoria. The database labels it as Krypton Aurochloride, a man made chemical with no real documented usability. For whatever reason it was mixed in with the sunscreen and acted as a catalyst between the quarternium and the aphrodisiac after Spock was scratched, creating something completely different and unidentifiable.

"Whatever this compound is, it triggered some kind of reaction in Spock's body. The compound isn't as potent as it was when Spock was first scratched, so to some degree, his body is breaking it down. Fortunately it isn't doing any damage to his body; physically, aside from his high temperature, he's perfectly healthy. It seems the effects are proving to be more psychological, hence his uncharacteristic behavior."

Kirk blinked at McCoy. He was considered a genius, but what McCoy said made no sense. "So, basically, in far too many words, you're telling me what I knew on Kalthoria; that the sunscreen mixing with the aphrodisiac from that Felisian woman's nails has caused Spock to go nuts?"

McCoy sighed in annoyance. "In a very simplistic manner, yes, that's what I said. I can devise an antidote from the sample of blood I have, but I can't guarantee that will correct the symptoms Spock is currently suffering from. The most it will do is clear the compound out of his system faster than his body is currently expelling it. While I'm doing that Nurse Chapel, I'll need you to figure out just what's going on with Spock."

"You know," Chapel said, "I think I've heard of something similar to what Mr. Spock is experiencing. I can't remember what it's called, but it causes Vulcans to become completely erratic and somewhat dangerous to be around. I really wish I could remember what it was called…it's on the tip of my tongue… I think it started with a 'p'?"

Kirk's eyes grew wide as Spock Prime's memories flashed before him. He thought they had faded away after Spock's personalities were merged, but it seems he was wrong. In his mind's eye, he saw a bowl of soup being thrown against a wall and a blonde woman, whom he presumed was Chapel, being yelled at by Spock. The images began to grow hazy as they flashed by his eyes. There were blurbs of outbursts similar to what he had seen from his own Spock, a trip to Vulcan, a Vulcan ceremony that involved his other self and Spock Prime fighting to the death…

In an instant the cause of Spock madness came to him. He whispered, "_Pon farr_…"

"Pon what? What are you talking about Jim?" Kirk simply stared blankly into space and remained silent. McCoy reached out to Kirk and shook his shoulders with his one good hand. "_Jim!_"

McCoy's voice cut through Kirk's thoughts. He blinked rapidly and stared at McCoy, who was giving him a very concerned look. "Are you alright Jim? Please don't tell me I have to treat you as a patient too..."

"Huh? Oh…no…" Kirk said, biting his lip. "I, uh, I just saw some more of Prime's memories."

McCoy raised an eyebrow at Kirk. "I thought you got rid of those when Spock merged with his alter egos? If you've been hiding something from me…"

"I've been hiding nothing from you Bones; I thought they were gone too." Kirk spat irritably, looking at Spock's unconscious body lying on the bed. "Obviously we both thought wrong. I guess they were just pushed to the back of my mind like any normal memory…"

McCoy snorted. Chapel whacked him on the arm to shush him, earning a glare from the chief medical officer. She glared back before turning her attention Kirk, who had moved to Spock's side and was holding his hand gently.

"I know what he's going through," Kirk said. "It's called _pon farr_…"

Chapel's face lit up when she heard the Vulcan words. "That's it!" she said, pointing at Kirk. "That's the word I was thinking of! It's a Vulcan condition that they all go through that…" she paused as she remembered just what _pon farr _wasand what it entailed. "Wait…if he's suffering from _pon farr _then that means…"

"We have to get him to New Vulcan." Jim murmured, not taking his eyes off Spock. "Something's going wrong with his _pon farr. _It should have dissipated by now. The chemical in his blood might be complicating things. I don't know when exactly it was triggered, but if we don't get him there fast, he'll die."

McCoy and Chapel exchanged a look. McCoy walked over to his best friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "You'd better inform Starfleet about the change of course," he said. "If you say he needs to get to New Vulcan, we should go there immediately. We don't want our favorite Vulcan keeling over on us."

Kirk nodded and lifted Spock's hand to his lips, kissing the Vulcan's knuckles gently. "Hang in there, Spock… we'll get you the help you need…"

* * *

Though he was unconscious, Spock's alter egos heard what was said and now knew exactly what was wrong. _**Pon farr? That's **_**what he's going through? Son of a… **Gabriel directed his anger at Spock's younger self. **You knew! You **_**had **_**to have known! Why the hell didn't you tell me he was going through his **_**pon farr**_**?!?**

_What good would it have done to tell you? _Spock's Vulcan half asked with a hint of exasperation in his voice. _There's nothing neither you nor I can do about it. He may be able to tap into our individual personality traits when he's conscious, but in his current state we can't do anything. Trying to influence him would be as useful as talking to a wall._

**Damn it! **Gabriel shouted. **What good is it for us to be merged with him if we can't do a damned thing when shit like this happens?**

_It seems to me you're only upset because you are unable to regain full control of his body to do as you see fit…_

**Hey, don't go getting all snotty with **_**me**_** you little Vulcan runt, **Gabriel sneered. **You're not much better than I am. As I recall you were the reason Spock was the cold hearted bastard he was up until we were merged together! Do you have **_**any**_** idea how many regrets he has because of you?!?**

_Now is not the time for us to argue!_ The young Vulcan said, his voice rising in anger. _Right now Spock is tapping into his more savage behaviors and is completely beyond our reach_. _The only thing we can do now is pray they get him to Vulcan on time…_

They both felt Spock's consciousness slowly returning to him.

Gabriel swore. **Looks like Mr. Hyde is about to show his ugly face again…**

* * *

Kirk turned away from Spock and began walking toward the door. He had to get to the bridge quickly and have a course set for New Vulcan as soon as possible. Just as he reached the door, Spock's eyes opened. Though his gaze was still vacant, there was purpose clear in his expression. Looking at the restraints that held him to the bed, he mustered his strength and ripped them off his arms completely before rising to get up from the bed.

"_JIM!"_ McCoy shouted as he and Chapel both tried to hold Spock down. Kirk whirled around and gasped at the sight before him. McCoy was knocked back against the wall by the Vulcan's immense strength. He howled in pain as he hit his broken hand against the wall. Sliding down to the floor, he held his bandaged hand close to his chest and glared through watering eyes and gritted teeth at Spock. Kirk managed to rush to Chapel's side just as Spock moved to push her too.

"_SPOCK!"_ Kirk shouted. Spock's hand froze inches away from Chapel. His glazed over eyes shifted to Kirk and fixated on him. Kirk pushed Chapel back and grabbed on to Spock, trying with all his might to push Spock down on the bed. "You will stay here in sick bay until we reach New Vulcan, you hear me? That's an order!"

Unlike the first time Kirk had ordered Spock that day, Spock did not comply. Instead, he reached out and shoved Kirk as hard as he could, which sent Kirk flying across the sick bay. When he landed on the floor he skidded on his back into a wall, hitting his head as he collided with it. Stars flashed before his eyes from the sharp pain in the back of his head.

The first thing he saw when he reopened his eyes was Spock towering ominously over him. His blazing hot hands reached down to grab him, but Kirk managed to meet them with his own hands. "No!" he shouted. "You're _not _carting me off again like some caveman with his mate! I have to get to the bridge!"

Fiery hands fought with icy cold hands as Kirk tried in vain to keep Spock away from him. The Vulcan's strength and swiftness turned out to be far more than Kirk could match. Kirk's arms were shoved away and before he could bring them back to continue his fight against Spock, he was hoisted over Spock's shoulder for the second time that day.

Kirk kicked and flailed. He had to do something, _anything_ to make it harder for Spock to carry him off. When Spock walked through the sick bay door, Kirk grabbed onto the doorway and held on for dear life. Perhaps if he could fall out of Spock's grip, he could manage to make a break for the bridge. Sadly his grasp of the doorway was quickly broken after Spock pulled his lower half forward with all his strength.

Chapel rushed to the door and looked down the hall as Kirk slowly disappeared into the distance. He cried out to her, "Chapel! Help McCoy to get that antidote started! The sooner we get it done the sooner we can see if we can get this damned compound out of his system!"

* * *

Two hours later, Kirk found himself hating sex for the first time in his life. At this rate he wouldn't be able to sit comfortably for a full month. At least Spock wore himself out faster than the last time. His body ached so much and had so many new painful marks on it he didn't even have the strength to wash himself of the sticky sweat and fluids on his body.

_I got to get him to New Vulcan, _he thought to himself as he wormed his exhausted body from underneath the unconscious Spock and put his clothes on again. He didn't care that he smelled of sex or that his clothes clung nastily to his moist body or even that in Spock's haste to undress him, he had ripped the shoulder of his tunic almost completely off. The only thing that mattered was getting to the bridge and getting to New Vulcan as swiftly as possible.

He stumbled out of the room and lumbered down the hall to the elevator, ignoring the strange looks and wrinkled noses of the crew members he passed. There was no doubt that rumors would be circulating the entire ship if they weren't already, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was getting in touch with Spock Prime and getting Spock back to normal.

The elevator ride was far too short for the weary captain who stumbled out of it onto the bridge. He was met with even more strange looks from his crew members. Breathing hard and continuing to ignore the looks, he lumbered toward the helm and said, "Sulu…set a course…to New Vulcan…max warp. Get us there as…as fast…as you can."

"Uh, sir?" Sulu asked with a skeptical look on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, you look like hell," Uhura said, adding quickly, "and smell like it too…no offense…"

Kirk fell into his chair and sighed tiredly. "You have no idea. Only thing I can say right now is that we have an emergency concerning Mr. Spock. We need to get him to New Vulcan immediately."

"Does eet hawe to do with ze scratch he receiwed on Kalthoria?" Chekov asked.

Wearily, Kirk nodded. "Yes Mr. Chekov, it does. So please, get us there quickly. Uhura, notify Starfleet and inform them that we're changing our current course to New Vulcan. Tell them that it is imperative that we…"

The sound of the elevator door opening behind him instantly cut him off. He didn't need to turn around to know exactly who it was; he could tell who it was by the way the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Sure enough, when he turned in his chair, he saw Spock, clad only in his underwear. He closed his eyes and covered his face with his hand. At least he had the decency to put _something _on instead of just lumbering out naked.

Bitterly, he thought to himself: _Well, if anything was going to prove how badly we need to get him to New Vulcan, this is it. _

Spock's eyes locked on to Kirk in his captain's chair and with the movements of a robot, he walked toward him. Kirk saw him approach in just enough time to spin out of the chair away from him. He faced Spock and held his hands up toward him as if to push him away. "Now Spock, I think you and I have had enough extracurricular activities for the day. Surely you're exhausted! Why don't you just go back to the room and get some rest, huh?"

The vacant look in his eyes and continued forward movement toward Kirk showed that Kirk's words hadn't reached him. Kirk backed into the console where Chekov and Sulu sat and looked for a potential escape route. He spotted a greater space to his left and pushed off the console into that direction. Spock proved to be much faster and wrapped his arms around Kirk's waist, lifting him off the ground.

Kirk kicked his feet and flailed his arms, struggling to wiggle out of Spock's iron grip. "No!" he shouted. "Let me go you crazed horn ball! Let me go! That's an order!"

Once again Kirk was flung over Spock's shoulder as if he were a sack of potatoes and carried him back toward the elevator. He screamed as he was carted away, "_SULU! GET US TO NEW VULCAN NOW!!!!" _Before the elevator door closed on him and Spock, he yelled to Uhura, "Uhura! Notify Starfleet! As soon as we're in transmission range, contact Spock Prime and tell him the situation!"

When the elevator door closed, everyone on the bridge looked at each other in mute shock. The scene they had just witnessed couldn't _really _have just happened…could it? Nonetheless, they all turned to their stations and made preparations to get to New Vulcan as fast as the Enterprise could without flying apart.

* * *

Kirk cried softly as he curled himself into a ball. This time it only took one round for Spock to tap out. Kirk decided it would be best to stay in the room, since apparently his escape acted as sexual trigger for Spock. It was official. He hated sex. Whenever this whole _pon farr _thing ended, he was never going to have sex again. Not with a female, not with a male, not even with an amorphous blob. He had more sex in the last twelve hours than he did during his freshman year at the Academy, and he had been _very _active during his freshman year.

Uhura's voice crackled over the intercom: _Captain? I've notified Captain Pike of the situation. He's given us approval to head there and is forwarding the information to the other Starfleet leaders. We've just reached transmission range of New Vulcan. I've sent communication to Spock Prime and he's requesting to talk with you directly. If you're in a decent enough condition to speak, I can transfer the transmission to your telecomm._

Groaning, Kirk uncurled himself and sat up on the bed. He pushed up from the bed and clomped over to his intercom. Thumbing the button, he rasped, "Transfer it."

The telecomm on his desk lit up with green text that read "Incoming Transmission". He dragged himself across the room and dropped into the chair in front of it. After pressing the button to accept the transmission, he was welcomed with the wrinkled face of Spock Prime. He gave a weak half-smile and said, "Hello Prime, or should I refer to you as Surok on this channel?"

Prime chuckled and said, "Prime will be fine Jim. The transmission was routed to my personal telecomm in my home; you caught me on my day off."

"Ah, crap, I'm sorry Prime," Kirk apologized.

"Think nothing of it," Prime smiled. "It is always good to hear from you. I regret that it is usually under dire circumstances. Lieutenant Uhura made mention of Spock being in a rather compromised condition. Would you care to elaborate?"

Kirk cut right to the chase with his explanation. Prime had already been informed by Spock a year ago that they were engaged, so that part didn't need to be explained. As requested, he kept this information secret from Sarek, who also knew Prime's true identity and on many occasions came to him to discuss matters concerning Spock. Kirk told him about the trip to Kalthoria to celebrate the year they had been engaged, told him about the suspicious sunscreen Spock put on despite his admonitions, the scratch from the female Felisian, and the ensuing chaos that followed. Prime listened patiently with a stoic expression on his face, processing the information in his mind as he received it.

When Kirk finished his explanation, Spock reviewed the information he had just received in abundance. "The compound in Spock's blood has triggered his _pon farr,_ which was not meant to happen for a few more years. In addition, the compound is wrecking havoc with his body and has turned him into the equivalent of a zombie who craves only one thing: sex with his mate. Currently Doctor McCoy is trying to create an antidote for the compound since Spock's current state is keeping it from fully dissipating from his body, but since he is now under the influence of the _plak tow, _removing the compound from his blood alone will not correct the problem."

"That about sums it up," Kirk said. "I don't know what kind of progress McCoy's making, but at the moment, we need help figuring out how to get Spock to snap out of his _plak tow_. What I don't get is why despite how much we've been…well…you know…he hasn't snapped out of it, but rather has gotten worse!"

Prime thought about it for a moment and then said, "It is possible that the compound is preventing him from being satiated as he normally would be after mating with his chosen. If that is the case, it is imperative that you come here so that I can assist McCoy in creating the antidote and keep him sedated until then. From what you've told me, Spock does not have much time left. However, there may be one additional problem…"

Kirk paled at the thought of there being yet _another _factor keeping Spock from getting better. He swallowed hard and asked, "What's that?"

To his surprise, Prime actually turned a light shade of green. "Jim, this is an extremely personal question, but in order to assess the problem with Spock, I will require an honest answer." Kirk nodded his approval of Prime's request. Whatever it is he needed to know, he was willing to provide whatever information he could.

Taking deep breath, as if to gather his courage to ask the question, Prime asked, "What position do the two of you have sex in?"

Kirk blinked. What the hell did their position have to do with Spock's _pon farr_? "Uh, not that you really want to know this, but we've done it in just about every position he could possibly put me in. Hell, if he could tie me into a pretzel and do it that way he would."

Prime continued to blush and shook his head. "That was not what I meant, but your answer told me what I needed to know. If I am correct, you are the one on the receiving end when he initiates sex?"

It was Kirk's turn to blush. As much as he enjoyed it, it was still kind of embarrassing to be in the "bottom" position whenever they had sex. "Uh, yeah. He's always been the one on top and I've always been on the bottom." Mumbling, he added, "Guess that's his way of getting revenge for losing the captain's seat…"

"There is your problem," Prime stated with a very matter of fact tone and a bright green face. "As much as you both enjoy Spock being in the 'top' position, it is not as it should be. For his _pon farr _to be satisfied, he will need to be in the 'bottom' position, with you in the 'top'."

When Kirk realized what it was that Prime was saying, he had to stifle a laugh to avoid laughing at the quite embarrassed older Vulcan. He cleared his throat and said, "So, you're telling me that in order for this whole _pon farr _thing to blow over, and you'll have to excuse me for being blunt and crude, Spock is the one that needs to get fucked in the ass, not me?"

Prime's face was now as green as the unconscious Spock on Kirk's bed. "As vulgar as your explanation is, inevitably that is indeed the case. Though my first _pon farr _dissipated after I thought I had killed my Jim, the subsequent _pon farrs _that were spent with Jim had me in the receiving position and were only dispelled if that were the case."

Kirk held his laughter in, but couldn't keep himself from smirking smarmily at Prime. "Prime," Kirk said, "You've just given me the best news of the night. We'll be at New Vulcan shortly; be prepared to receive us. Kirk out."

The screen displayed the green words "Transmission terminated" as Kirk let out the laughter he almost released in Prime's face. The pain in his body was now worth feeling as he let himself laugh loudly. After laughing for a few minutes he wiped the tears from his face and turned toward the still sleeping Spock. He went over to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Just you wait Spock," he said, grinning evilly. "When we get that compound out of your system, I'm going to give you a taste of your own medicine…"

__

Author's note. Spock Prime's alias of "Surok" was originally found in jenlynn820's fic "The Human Heart" on LiveJournal. Go read it, it's good! 


	17. Cannot Be Unseen

**Ch 16: Cannot Be Unseen**

Luck continued to stay on Kirk's side the entire trip to New Vulcan. After taking yet another shower to cleanse his body of its nasty stickiness, he was allowed to sleep in peace without being disturbed by the overly horny Vulcan. Well, it was a little jarring to have to sleep through Spock's surprisingly loud snoring, but as exhausted as Kirk was, the snoring didn't distract him from sleeping for long. When Uhura's voice crackled on the intercom again, he groaned and put a pillow over his head before realizing that she was announcing that they had arrived at New Vulcan.

Half-reluctantly, he crawled out of bed and put on a fresh uniform. Spock remained passed out on the bed, snoring as if he nothing had changed. Kirk shook his head and gave the troublesome Vulcan a half-smile. He was half afraid that he'd be tackled and dragged back into the bedroom if he left, but at this point it didn't matter. He'd go straight to the transporter room with McCoy and beam down in front of Prime's residence.

However, when he moved to leave, he hesitated. Should he really leave Spock alone in the room? What if he woke up while he was gone and began wrecking havoc once he found that Kirk wasn't on the ship? Kirk sighed and thumbed the intercom. Will a security team please report to the captain's quarters? Repeat, will a security team please report to the captain's quarters?

While he waited for security to arrive, he dressed Spock in the uniform he had peeled off and tossed aside hours ago. Minutes later a couple of security officers knocked on Kirk's door. The taller of the security officers said, "We've come to your quarters as per your request sir. What seems to be the problem?"

"Gentlemen, I need you to carry Spock to sick bay please for me please," he said, hooking his thumb towards the snoring Vulcan.

The two security guards gave Kirk a skeptical look. "Uh, sir?" the shorter officer said. "I don't see what you need us to do that for…he looks completely harmless."

"Trust me," Kirk said, "I need you both to help me take him to sick bay. Don't let his appearance fool you; he's been emotionally compromised and needs to be escorted for my safety. If you don't believe me, take a look at McCoy's hand when we get there and ask him what happened."

Shrugging, the two officers gave a unison, "Yes sir," and moved past Kirk to pick the sleeping Vulcan up. They then followed their captain out of the room and to the sick bay. When they arrived, a surprised McCoy looked at them.

"What are you bringing him here for?" McCoy asked. "We gotta get down to the surface…"

"…and given his recent behavior, how do you suppose he'd react if when he woke without me next to him?" Kirk asked. "The only reason there hasn't been another incident is because I stayed by his side the entire time he slept. I don't exactly like carrying him around like a little girl with a giant rag doll, but I can't exactly leave him here to raise hell because I'm gone either. Just give him another sedative and we'll cart him down to the surface with us."

Huffing, McCoy retrieved another hypospray filled with potent anesthetic and injected it into Spock's neck. His already limp body became limper in the security guards' arms. Kirk nodded his approval. "Thank you Bones. How's the antidote coming?"

McCoy shook his head. "I've been going around in circles for the last couple hours," he growled. "I started making progress, but I've hit a dead end. This compound is just too complex for me to develop an antidote on my own. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be glad to have Spock Prime's help on this."

Kirk slapped McCoy on the back and grinned. "Don't worry Bones; I won't hold that against you."

* * *

Prime waited patiently at the designated beam down location as Kirk, McCoy, and Spock, who was supported by two security guards beamed down before him. When they had fully rematerialized, he raised his hand in the traditional Vulcan salute.

"Welcome to New Vulcan gentlemen," he said before approaching them. He held Spock's feverish face his hands and looked at him. Closing his eyes, he shook his head. "If you had waited another day to contact me, he would've been dead before you brought him here. He truly has very little time left. We must be swift. Follow me."

The four men followed Prime as he led him into a medical facility not far from where they beamed in. It had the same cold atmosphere as Starfleet medical facilities did with its sterile environment. The room Prime led them into was a vast one with a plethora of medical equipment. The security guards placed Spock carefully onto a medical table while McCoy shared his progress with the antidote's development with Prime.

Prime nodded at what McCoy showed him. "Yes, it seems as though you are indeed on the right track and I can see how your progress became hindered. In all honesty, you are 85 percent of the way done with this antidote's completion. I commend you on making as much progress as you have considering the foreign nature of the compound.

"With as much work as you have accomplished on your own, completing the antidote will take no more than an hour, if that long. I would like to say I greatly appreciate and commend you for what you have done. With this much of the antidote already developed, you have ensured that Spock will indeed survive his first pon farr."

McCoy straightened his posture and gave a smug grin. Something about being praised by Spock, even if it wasn't the same Spock he knew, was immensely satisfying and boosted his ego. "Well," he beamed. "If our version of Spock complimented me like that, I'd probably like him a little more!"

"I apologize if I seem unusually complimentary," Prime said. "Spock's survival is of the utmost importance, and in my old age, I seem to be becoming, as you humans say, 'senile'. I can assure you that in a different time and scenario, I would not praise you so openly."

The grin on McCoy's face quickly melted into a frown. Crossing his arms angrily, he said, "Shoulda known it was too good to be true…"

Chuckling, Prime turned to McCoy and Kirk and said, "I will finish the antidote and administer it into Spock when I am finished. The security guards are free to go; they will not be needed any longer. As for you and McCoy, you can take a moment to explore the colony while I work. I am sure you would not want to simply watch as I work."

Kirk nodded at the security guards, who left the room to return to the beam down location. He looked at Prime and asked, "Is there a chance that this antidote won't work?"

"Nothing is ever 100 percent certain to succeed or to fail Jim," Prime said. "That being said, my calculations are that this antidote has a 98.1 percent chance of success. You can rest assured that Spock will be in a much better state of mind when you return from your walk."

"Come on Jim," McCoy said, putting an arm around his best friend's shoulders. "Let's let Spock Prime work. The longer we distract him, the less time Spock has."

They left the room and walked out into the warm air of the colony. All around them Vulcans walked to and fro various places. Some were walking home from work and some were walking from home to work. In some cases Vulcans stood on either side of the street and conversed.

"They really aren't all that different from us, are they Bones?" Kirk asked.

"Well, medically speaking there's a great deal of differences," McCoy explained. "If you tried treating a Vulcan as if they were a human, you'd probably wind up killing them. As far as philosophies, behaviors, and beliefs go, there's a considerable amount more in common than they'd like us to believe."

"Looking at them on the own planet reminds me so much of some of Earth's cities. I almost feel like there should be bus stops and parking lots."

McCoy laughed. "Now you're just projecting your own feelings on their society."

"I'm serious Bones! I know they like to play like we're the inferior species and all, but beneath their haughty attitudes and layers of logical thinking, they're basically just like humans. They have the exact same feelings that we do, they just don't want history to repeat itself. Inevitably, half of their culture is based off of fear of themselves."

As they spoke, a young Vulcan child bumped into Kirk and fell backwards into the dirt. The book that they were caring dropped into the dust. Instinctively, Kirk reached down to pick her up, but since she had already picked herself off the ground, he grabbed her book and cleaned it off. Her face burned a bright green in embarrassment at her lack of attention to where she was going. Kirk carefully helped dust off the reddish brown dirt from the shoulders of her uniform and asked, "Are you okay? You took quite a spill there."

"I am uninjured," she said in a small voice.

Kirk flashed a bright smile at her and said, "Good, I'm glad to hear that." He looked closely at the girl and saw that she was probably around 6 years old. Her hair was tightly braided and dangled down her back past her waist. Her cheeks were round and chubby, her eyes the same dark brown as Spock's. When she saw Kirk's trademark smile, the corners of her mouth twitched upward before she could cach herself. It was obvious that she had not quite learned how to control her emotions yet, but Kirk found that to be a good thing, even if her elders did not.

"You have my thanks for your assistance," she said in a whisper thought voice. She took the book from Kirk and noticed that the nearest Vulcans were staring at her, as if they were judging her reaction to the human's kindness. Quickly, she steeled her facial expression and clasped the book closely to her. Ducking her head so as not to be tempted by his charisma, he said, "I need to go; I must get to class at the Academy before I am tardy..." and then hurried off.

Kirk stood and watched her scurry off, careful not to fall again, but hurrying to make it to her class in time. McCoy saw the forlorn look on his face and quirked an eyebrow. "Hey Jim, have you ever considered having children?"

Still looking at the fleeting girl, Jim nodded. "Not before things got serious with Spock, but after that, yeah. I'm actually really surprised at how much I've thought about it." He shifted his attention from the girl and looked at McCoy. "Bones, do you think I would make a good father?"

McCoy nodded and smiled. "Yes Jim, I think you would."

The two continued on their walk until what they felt was an hour had passed. They made their way back to the medical facility and walked back into the room where the two Spocks were. The older Spock looked at McCoy and Kirk and in a cheery voice, said, "Ah, welcome back! I was wondering when you two would return!"

"Did you finish the antidote?" Kirk asked.

Prime nodded and motioned to the screen that displayed two comparative images of a scan of Spock's circulatory system. The image on the left showed the compound coursing through Spock's veins while the one on the right showed it clear of the compound. "I surprised myself and managed to finish the antidote only twenty minutes after you two left. I have already administered the antidote into Spock's body and you as you can see in the more recent scan, the compound has been eradicated from his system. He has not come to yet, so I am uncertain if the removal of the compound in his blood will break his _plak tow _or not."

Spock stirred on the medical table, drawing the three men's attention to him. Kirk was the first to rush to his side, followed by Prime and McCoy. He grasped on to Spock's hand and said softly, "Spock, are you back with us?"

The young Vulcan's eyes fluttered open and squinted against the bright light. Through the fog, he managed to see Kirk's face. He reached out with his free hand and stroked Kirk's face. Kirk smiled and leaned against Spock's hand, which was still as fiery as before. Spock sat up and looked deep into Kirk's eyes, some semblance of recognition shimmering in his eyes.

"Jim…" he whispered. Though Kirk had heard Spock say his name countless times, something about the way he said it this time made him feel tingly. It seemed like the antidote really had worked and brought Spock back to his senses.

Or at least he thought so before Spock climbed off of the medical table, lifted Kirk over his shoulder yet again, and carted him off. As he was carried out of the room, McCoy sighed and said, "Well, at least he seems less violent and more responsive now!"

* * *

Kirk's face burned from the looks that he received from the Vulcans he and Spock passed by as he was being carried off to who-knows-where. He found himself wishing that Spock had some of the urgency in his stride that he displayed on the Enterprise so that they could at least spend less time in the public eye. How would this be explained? What on Earth could they come up with to explain why Spock was carrying the intrepid Captain James T. Kirk over his shoulder on New Vulcan? He prayed that Spock Prime was as clever as he was brilliant so that if anyone asked he could come up with something believable…

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached a Vulcan residence. Spock easily opened the door and walked inside with his captain. Kirk would have wondered why the door wasn't locked, but then it occurred to him that Vulcans would have no need to lock their doors, as theft was not a worry among the Vulcan race.

To Spock's surprise, when he placed Kirk gently down on the floor and closed the door, Kirk pressed him against the door and gave him a mischievous smile. Before Spock could protest, Kirk pressed his cool lips against Spock's sizzling mouth. Fire and ice met in a seductive dance as Kirk's hand snuck between Spock's legs. As he expected, Spock was rock hard despite all the sex they had prior to their arrival. His hips lifted from the door to press Kirk's hand harder against him. Kirk fumbled with the zipper to the front of his pants and shoved his hand down the front of Spock's underwear. Wrapping his hand around his target he pumped twice, relishing the throaty moan that rumbled against his lips.

Kirk released his grip on Spock's erection and pulled his lips away from Spock's mouth, which followed after the retreating coolness. Spock looked at Kirk through half-lidded lust filled eyes and gasped, "What are you going to do with me?"

The mischievous smile returned to Kirk's lips as he answered, "I'm going to you a taste of your own medicine…"

Kirk lifted Spock off of his feet and carried him further into the living room. He threw the aroused Vulcan into the closest chair and leaned back in for another kiss. Spock's hands slid up his shirt, leaving a scorching trail of caresses as he began pulling it up off of Kirk. Kirk returned the favor and used his icy hands to remove Spock's shirt. They continued in this fashion until both of the men were naked.

"Would it not be appropriate to move this into a bedroom instead of doing this out in the open?" Spock asked, his logic still present despite his arousal.

"I think we'll be fine," Kirk reassured him. "Prime knows what's going on, so I don't think he'll just waltz in unannounced."

Kirk bent down over the pulsating dark green appendage and with perfect skill slid it into his mouth and down his throat. Gritting his teeth, Spock growled at the deliciously cold slickness of Kirk's mouth. Kirk moved his mouth up and down around Spock's cock and then pulled his mouth away. Spock gave a pleading groan and thrust his hips upward to no avail.

The blond haired man placed a finger in his mouth and pressed it against Spock's rectum. Spock moaned surprisingly loud when Kirk's slick finger gently made its way inside of him. Kirk smirked and quirked an eyebrow at Spock, "I never figured you for a moaner…"

Shooting him an unconvincingly annoyed glare, Spock said, "Less of your confounded teasing, more of your finger inside of me."

Laughing, Kirk complied and slid the finger further in and stretched the muscles inside carefully. Spock continued to moan, occasionally crying out whenever Kirk hit his prostate. Pulling his finger out and using his mouth to lube up the other three fingers, Kirk returned to Spock's rectum and reinserted one finger, then added another, and then added the last one. It didn't take long for Spock to loosen up around his fingers. Judging by the way he slammed himself into Kirk's fingers, he was enjoying himself thoroughly.

Kirk decided to reward Spock for being so cooperative and returned his mouth to Spock's cock, eliciting a very loud cry from Spock's lips. Anyone listening to them would think that Spock was being tortured judging by his cries when quite the contrary was happening.

Somehow Spock was able to think coherently enough to shout, "Jim! I am coming!" before releasing himself into Kirk's mouth. He thrust hard into Kirk's mouth a few times before falling back against the chair, struggling to catch his breath.

Kirk removed his fingers from Spock's rectum and his mouth from his still twitching penis. He swallowed and gave a small smile as he waited for Spock's eyes to reopen and look at him. When he caught his breath, he said, "Is that what you meant by giving me a taste of my own medicine?"

"Oh no, we're only beginning…" Kirk laughed as he stood up, revealing his own throbbing erection. He didn't even need to give Spock the demand to give it the attention he desired. The seemingly exhausted Vulcan revived quickly and enthusiastically took Kirk fully into his mouth. Kirk's eyes rolled to the back of his head as the searing warmth of Spock's mouth enveloped his cock. He bit his lip to keep himself from being brought too close to orgasm so soon after having Spock begin to suck him off, but feeling Spock's hot hand on his balls was too much. He was barely able to warn Spock before shooting off in his mouth.

Removing his mouth from Kirk's still hard cock, Spock swallowed Kirk's load and licked his lips sexily. Kirk found himself quickly loving sex all over again as he watched Spock spread his legs and said, "I want you in me. _Now_."

Surprised at Spock's bluntness, Kirk chuckled and guided the head of his slick penis toward Spock's rectum. Since it was Spock's first time, he wanted to be gentle, but the moment his head pressed against Spock, Spock brought his hips down and forced Kirk in all the way to the hilt. Kirk cried out at the tightness that he wasn't allowed to prepare for due to Spock's over eagerness. For a moment he feared he would pass out, but he managed to hold on to his consciousness if for no other reason than to continue feeling the delicious sensation of warm flesh around him. It had been far, far too long since he was last able to enjoy it and he wasn't about to miss the opportunity to enjoy it again.

He put his hands on Spock's hips and slowly began thrusting in and out of him; just because his entrance had been rushed didn't mean the entire thing needed to be. Before long though, Spock began begging for him to speed up. Spock's hands gripped on so tightly to the chair's arms that his knuckles were snow white. He pushed himself up to change the angle of Kirk's thrusts so that they hit his prostate better and wrapped his long slender legs around Kirk's waist. Kirk moved one of his hands to Spock's penis and began pumping it in time with his thrusts. At their current speed, it seemed like it wouldn't take long for both of them to climax together…

* * *

Sarek walked from the Vulcan High Council's building after sitting through his tenth engagement ceremony. T'Pau seemed to be upping her efforts to get as many of the Vulcans who were still not bound by the life bond to become engaged as possible. It seemed as though they were reaching the end of their extensive list, which served as a small relief to him. The moment he finished his business with Starfleet he was forced to report back to New Vulcan to act as another witness to the ceremonies. He found no real necessity to his presence, but perhaps it was T'Pau's way of keeping a short leash on him.

The one bright spot in his day was hearing that Spock had come to visit. It seemed peculiar that he would pay a visit in the middle of his exploration mission, but it pleased him that he would have the chance to see him. It was normal for them to go great lengths of time without contacting one another and he had just seen Spock two weeks ago, but his paternal instinct made him anxious to see him again.

He decided the best thing to do before looking for his son would be to visit Spock Prime for a brief moment. It was likely that he hadn't heard of Spock's visit since today was his day to rest, so he decided to stop by his home to inform him. If Spock were not busy on an errand, perhaps they could all take a moment to sit together and discuss the Vulcan race's current progress.

When he reached Prime's home, he let himself in, as the elderly Vulcan had given him express permission to come and go as he pleased if he wished to visit. He had expected to find Prime sitting in a chair reading a book in the living room as he always was, but what he saw was quite different…

The very son he had looked forward to seeing was completely naked with the captain of the Enterprise. They were both covered in sweat and moaning loudly, Spock the louder of the two. His hands clutched tightly on to the arms of the chair closest to the door as he supported the top half of his body, his lower half being supported by the thrusting Captain Kirk. One of Kirk's hands held on to Spock's waist, the other on to his dark green cock.

It was not typical for Vulcans to openly show emotion, but given the situation, Sarek found it hard not to stare in mute appall with his mouth hanging open. The two were so engrossed in their intimate activity that they hadn't heard or seen Sarek enter. Fortunately Sarek didn't have to watch his son's fornication with the human captain for long; unfortunately this wasn't because they discovered him and halted their actions, but because both Kirk and Spock had climaxed together. The sound of his son screaming Kirk's name, the sight of his bodily fluids shooting out onto his stomach, and the sight of their faces contorted in mutual ecstasy were things that Sarek wouldn't be able to forget even if his brain were incinerated inside of his skull.

The two crumpled together in exhaustion, their energy spent. Kirk managed to open his eyes and caught the sight of Sarek standing with crossed arms and an enraged look on his face. His eyes grew to an unnatural size as his formerly red flushed skin became completely devoid of color.

Spock spotted the look on Kirk's face and said, "Jim? What's wrong?" Not trusting his mouth, Kirk simply lifted his clean hand and pointed to the furious Vulcan behind them. Spock lifted himself out of the chair and felt his heart stop. Like Kirk, he lost the dark green flush of his skin as all the blood seemed to drain from his body. Standing behind him was probably the last person he could think of to walk in on him being on the receiving end of a sexual encounter with his captain.

"F-father?!?"

Sarek's gaze could have caused Spock and Kirk to both spontaneously combust on sight if he were capable of such a thing. He clenched his jaw and spun on his heel, leaving Prime's house as quickly as he had entered. Still mortified by Sarek's presence, Kirk managed to say the words that aptly summed up both his and Spock's feelings.

"Oh. Fuck."


	18. Explanations

**Ch 17: Explanations**

Kirk and Spock put their uniforms back on after taking a quick shower to clean themselves of the sweat, smell, and spent fluids from their recent activities. Fortunately no one else came into the house while they made their swift retreat to the restroom with uniforms balled up in their arms. The good news was that the combination of Prime's antidote and Kirk taking the lead with their sexual encounter was enough to release Spock from the grips of his _pon farr. _The bad news was that for whatever reason Sarek had decided to just walk into Prime's house without knocking and saw his son being screwed by the captain of his ship. If the moral implications of it weren't worrisome, the repercussions they'd suffer should Starfleet find out were.

"I must go to Father and explain the matter to him in whole," Spock said, pulling his shirt over his head and rushing out of the bathroom. "If he knows that my _pon farr _was prematurely triggered, it may serve as a viable excuse for our actions."

"Oh yeah, I can see that conversation going well," Kirk said as he followed Spock out of the bathroom. "'Sorry Father, the reason my captain was fucking me in the ass was because I caught Cat Scratch Fever during our shore leave and went into full blown horn ball mode. Didn't mean for you to walk in on us, but hey, you know how it is when you're caught up in the moment with your life mate!'"

Spock stopped and looked down at the floor. In a small voice, he said, "He…he does not know about us…"

Kirk looked at the back of Spock's head with his jaw dropped. "I don't think I heard you correctly," he said in a dangerously slow and angry tone. "Tell me you did _not _just say that your father doesn't know that you and I are engaged…"

The Vulcan turned slowly and gave Kirk a sad look. "I wish that I could Jim, but I do not wish to lie to you…"

Kirk grabbed Spock by the shoulders and shot daggers at him from his frigid blue eyes. "You mean to tell me that in the year we've been together, it _never_ occurred to you to inform your father about it?!? Isn't that why he took the risk of having you falsify a life bond with T'Maire?!? Wouldn't you owe it to him to let him know?!?"

Spock couldn't bear to look Kirk in the eye. His gaze remained fixed on the floor as he murmured, "I did not tell him because he would not approve. He does not even know that we love each other…"

It took everything Kirk had to keep himself from hauling off and punching Spock in the face. He removed a hand from Spock's arm and pointed at him. "After we've cleared this up with Sarek, you and I are having a _serious _talk about this…"

The front door opened behind them. Prime and McCoy walked in and saw them standing. "Ah," McCoy said, "I assume that you have 'handled' Spock's _pon farr_ problem?"

Kirk shot an angry glare at Spock before explaining what had just happened regarding Sarek. Both Prime and McCoy paled and stared at the two with wide eyes. "You're kidding…" McCoy breathed. "He seriously walked in while you two were…"

"Yes," Kirk said. "And to top it aaaaall off, Sarek doesn't even know that Spock and I are together, let alone engaged."

McCoy stared in angry shock at Spock, but Prime showed no surprise at the news. "It is true," he said with a sad tone. "Sarek was never informed about the bond that you two share in any way, shape, or form. I assume that when you two attempt to tell him now, the outcome will not be good."

"Wait," Kirk said, turning to Prime. "You mean you _knew _that Sarek had no idea we were a couple and yet you just let us come into your home to handle the whole _pon farr _thing, knowing that at any time he'd just waltz in without warning?!?"

"Why the hell didn't he knock anyway?" McCoy asked. "Don't you Vulcans know a thing about courtesy? Or is that not a part of your whole belief in logic?"

Cutting a sharp eye at McCoy, Prime explained, "Vulcans do not believe in the same courtesy of knocking amongst family members. I informed Sarek that I am indeed his son from an alternate universe and thus he could treat me like a normal family member. He was granted full permission to come and visit me whenever he wished so long as he only did so when I would be awake and at home. It is regretful that he chose the moment that Kirk and Spock were being intimate to visit me, but there is no undoing it now.

"To answer your question about Sarek knowing about your relationship with Spock, Jim, the reasoning behind it should meet your approval. As you know Vulcans were savage before we embraced the teachings of Surak. We were violent, we were lustful, and we were promiscuous. There were no set life mates as we have now; we simply mated with whoever we desired whenever we desired. Surak's teachings renounced homosexuality for that reason; in an effort to embrace a civilized life, the desire to mate without the ability to bear children was foregone. To prevent us from falling back on our baser instincts, we arranged marriages for our young and forced them to forge life bonds with their chosen mates. That is why we go through _pon farr; _at a certain point our baser instincts can no longer be ignored, and to both sate them and keep them at bay, only mating with our life mate will cure the blood fever.

"Homosexuality for Vulcans is not something one is born with as it is with most humans; it is entirely a decisive choice. Even though those who choose a mate of the same gender tend to do so for logical reasons, their choice still reflects poorly on them in the eyes of their Vulcan peers. Homosexuality is seen as a form of weakness, for those who choose that path are one step closer to savagery. It is for this very reason that those like T'Maire who embrace their emotions rather than bottling them up and controlling them, are shunned.

"In my universe, I also hid my relationship with Jim away from my father. It wasn't until he mind melded with Jim that he found out. After I came back to life with the assistance of Genesis, he and I sat down and discussed things. Though he did not agree with my love for another male, he could not deny that Jim and I were meant to be together and from then on supported our relationship, not as one between two men, but as one between two kindred spirits. It was our hope that in this universe Sarek may be able to do the same, but we both decided it was best to hold back on informing him until the time was right."

"So you're basically saying that you both kept the truth from Sarek because whether he truly chooses to be or not, he's a homophobe like the rest of the Vulcan race," Kirk surmised.

"To be blunt and utilize Earth slang, yes," Prime answered, pursing his lips.

"I did not want my father's disagreement with our relationship to cause problems between us," Spock added, still looking down at the ground.

"And you didn't think that hiding that from me would cause any problems?" Kirk spat, causing Spock's ears to tinge green in embarrassment. "You know, I don't even really think my problem is that you didn't tell your father about us; I think my problem is you felt it was important enough to tell Prime about it but didn't feel it was important enough to mention to me so that at least _I_ was aware of it. I could understand not saying anything before we were engaged, but the moment you pledged to spend the rest of your life with me you should have told me then and there about not telling your father about us. We could have worked something out, found a way to tell him when the time was right or figure out how to soften the blow, but instead you hid it both from me _and_ Sarek and put us in our current predicament. Yeah, great plan, Spock. Now you have a mentally scarred father and a pissed off fiancé."

Kirk stomped toward the door and walked out after McCoy and Prime moved out of his way. The door slammed shut behind him, the sound rattling the walls and echoing through the empty rooms. McCoy turned to look at both Spock and Prime and gave them both a disappointed look. "You would think as much as you pointy-eared bastards preach about logic, you'd think you would've figured out that hiding things from the ones you love is a dumb idea."

McCoy turned to the door and let himself out as well, closing the door quietly behind him instead of slamming it as Kirk had. The two Spocks were left alone with each other to contemplate their mutually poor decision.

* * *

Kirk stormed into his bedroom with McCoy close at his heels. "Jim, will you calm down?" he said, finally catching up with him.

"I can't fucking believe this bullshit," Kirk shouted. "A year and a half! A year and a _fucking_ half and his dad finds out about us like this, all because Spock wanted to save face? What the _fuck?!?_"

"Jim, just because your mom was all smiles and happy when you told her about Spock doesn't mean the rest of the universe is going to feel the same way!" McCoy countered. "I don't like siding with the damned fool on this, but I can't say in good conscience that he was entirely wrong for keeping his relationship a secret from his father."

Kirk whirled around and stared at McCoy as if he had grown a second head and an arm from his chest. "Are you _fucking serious?!? _How the hell do you justify keeping something as important as the man you're in love with and planning to marry from your family?!?"

"Maybe if you got your head out of your ass for one second and thought about Spock's position instead of your own hurt feelings you would see why!" Kirk's lips pursed at McCoy's words, but he remained silent to give the doctor a chance to speak his mind. He did after all have somewhat of a background in psychology and tended to think rationally about things such as this.

"Spock is already in a sticky situation with his father; he turned his back on his race in their greatest time of need to remain in Starfleet because he felt he was of greater use there than on the colony. Sarek took his decision hard and for a while they didn't talk. In fact, the last time they talked was when you both became engaged. They still haven't patched things up yet, so telling his father that he's gay wouldn't exactly help their relationship."

Kirk stared at McCoy in awe. "How did you find all that out?"

"Through Prime," McCoy answered with a smirk. "It seems that the older Vulcans get, the chattier they get. We had a nice long talk after you two vanished. Seems Prime, or Surok as he goes by, informed Sarek about his true identity. They've talked quite a bit about things, especially Spock. However, Sarek has no clue about the relationship he shared with your other self."

"Well that's just lovely," Kirk spat. "I assume they were both waiting for some cataclysmic event to occur before they told him?"

"Doubtful, but you got to admit, as angry as it makes you, it's a touchy subject. Hell, _you_ didn't even want to come right out and tell you mom that you were in love with another man! If it weren't for the fact that she picked up on it based on what you told her, she wouldn't have found out for a while either! Admit it Jim, you were just as scared to tell her as Spock was with his father!"

"_That's different!_" Kirk shouted, making McCoy jump. "When she found out I was in love with another man, I was still conflicted about the whole thing myself. Once our relationship finally started taking form I went to her and talked to her about it in full. It was only then that she knew everything!"

"Yes Jim, but you're a human! Humans are ten times more accepting of homosexuality than Vulcans are!"

"Spock is _half-_human! His father married a human despite how much his race despised his decision, but he didn't care because he was in love! How can he do something like that and then look down on Spock for being gay?!?"

"_I don't know!_" McCoy yelled. It was Kirk's turn to jump this time. "Dammit Jim I'm a doctor, not a mind-reader! I don't know what's going on through Sarek's head, nor do I want to know! But the fact of the matter is Spock hesitated to tell his father the truth and now he's suffering the consequences! He's got more than enough on his plate without you adding to his troubles!"

"Since when do you defend Spock? I thought you hated him for stealing me away from you!"

McCoy slapped Kirk across the face. Kirk's head remained turned, frozen in shock from the abrupt violence from his best friend. He clenched his jaw tightly as he kept himself from crying in anger and frustration.

The enraged doctor seethed, "Don't you _dare _pull that card on me James." Kirk winced at the sound of his full first name. McCoy hardly used it, but whenever he did, Kirk knew he had crossed the line. McCoy pointed a finger at Kirk and said, "If that's the attitude you want to have about this whole debacle, then _fine. _But I don't want to see you in my office bitching about it later. Handle your own shit."

He turned toward the door and was about to leave when Kirk reached forward and grabbed him by the shoulder. The hand that held him shook as Kirk began to cry. "Leonard…" Kirk croaked, using McCoy's first name to show how serious he was. "I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm just really upset right now…"

Sighing, McCoy turned around and pulled his best friend into his arms, patting his back as he cried into his shoulder. Kirk blubbered against the fabric of McCoy's shirt, "I feel like he's ashamed to love me…"

"He's not," McCoy said, shushing him. "His love for you is what drives his desire to stay in Starfleet. He wants to be by your side always. You can't tell me you don't know that when everyone else can see it as plain as day. He's just having a harder time telling his father than you did with your mother, that's all. This will all get cleared up soon, just wait and see."

All Kirk could utter as a response was a loud sob. McCoy wasn't too keen on the wet spot that steadily spread on his shoulder, but he knew soggy shirts were part of the job description as best friend.

* * *

Prime and Spock stood outside of Sarek's home, neither having the courage to enter. It was amusing that confronting his father about his relationship with Kirk was more frightening to him than hurtling towards the Narada on a crash course that would've ensured certain death had he not been teleported in time. Or at least it would have been amusing if he so wracked with fear that he visibly shook in place.

Prime saw his younger self shaking and placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him. In a soft voice, he said, "Do not fear Spock. I will go ahead and soften the blow for you. If our father hears that you were under the influence of _pon farr _before you explain your relationship with Jim, your talk with him will be much easier."

Not trusting his mouth at the moment, Spock simply nodded and watched as the elderly Vulcan walked forward and entered Sarek's house. Despite the setting sun, the room was brightly lit by many small candles scattered throughout the room. When he looked for Sarek though, he was nowhere to be found. Prime knew that the sandalwood scented candles were a sign that Sarek was meditating in his bedroom. Sandalwood was Amanda's favorite scent even in this universe, and filling his home with the smell that reminded him most of his late wife was the easiest way to sooth his tormented soul.

Sarek was sitting in the center of his room, completely still and deathly silent. Though Prime made not a single sound when he entered, Sarek sensed his presence. Eyes still closed he said, "It is unlike you to disturb me during my meditations. What brings you to my home Surok?"

"I beg your forgiveness for coming to see you now of all times, but I have a matter of the utmost importance to speak with you about. It involves Spock."

Sarek's eyes slowly opened and focused on Prime. "I do not wish to hear about Spock at this time. Perhaps the matter can wait until another time?"

"It cannot. The matter in which I need to speak to you about is in regards to his earlier behavior."

"So then you know of the vile act I was most unfortunate to have witnessed," Sarek said with venomous serenity.

"Indeed I do," Prime said. "For what it is worth, Spock was under the influence of _pon farr. _Injuries he sustained during his shore leave prematurely triggered it and left him swallowed in its throes. Were it not for The Enterprise's journey here and my assistance with an antidote to counteract the compound in his blood that hindered the _pon farr's _resolution, he would have died within a day's time."

"That explains his presence here on Vulcan; however it does not explain why he was fornicating with his captain in _your _living room!"

Prime could tell that he was treading in very dangerous waters, but the venture needed to be made. "When Spock reawakened after the antidote was administered, he carried Captain Kirk from the medical facility to my home, since that was the only place he was familiar with in the colony. As for why they did not move their activities to the bedroom, I have no explanation."

"That still does not explain why Captain Kirk was thrusting into him when I arrived!" Sarek's eyes flashed in an anger that threatened to roar out of control. He clenched his jaw and attempted to breathe the scent of sandalwood in deeply to calm himself.

This was it. Prime had to say this now to carry the burden for Spock. "It is because it was the only way to break the _pon farr,_" Prime said, each word hurting him as it left his mouth. "Captain Kirk is Spock's life mate."

"_LIFE MATE?!?_" Sarek yelled, standing on his feet. "Captain Kirk is Spock's _LIFE MATE?!?"_

Prime closed his eyes and said, "That is correct."

"_How did this happen? WHEN did this happen?!? _Why is my son engaged to the likes of him?!?"

"Because I love him."

Both Sarek's and Prime's eyes were aimed at the voice that came from the door. There stood Spock, green faced with fists clenched tightly. Though he didn't shake on the outside, on the inside he was quivering like a leaf. The look of rage on his father's face was far more intense than the one he had seen during their last transmission, and he had to swallow the urge to run screaming out of the house.

"I gave you the freedom to choose your own mate at the risk of my position on the High Council, and _this _is how you repay me?" Sarek hissed.

"I took full advantage of the freedom you allowed me to have and picked the one person in the universe that I could not live without," Spock said, slowly gaining confidence as he spoke. He stepped further into the room and stood tall before his father. "If you wish to chastise me for choosing a male mate, you can, but I used the same judgment choosing James T. Kirk as my mate as you did with mother."

"Do not compare our situations! They are completely different!"

"Why? Because he is male?"

"Because he is your _captain_!"

The words served as a verbal slap to Spock's face. Sarek saw how Spock reacted to his words and decided to run with it. "You may think that by choosing a male human mate you are paying homage to my choosing your mother, but the one important difference between the two is that you are _both _Starfleet officers on the _same _ship! Whether I approve of it or not, surely Starfleet will be extremely displeased to hear that their two best officers are fraternizing with each other! You are putting not only your career and reputation in jeopardy, but his as well!"

Spock found himself at a loss for words; his father had hit the one weak spot in his argument and the one fear that plagued him from the moment he and Kirk began dating. The one thing that meant more to him wasn't his own career, but Kirk's. In the months they had been together, he came to terms with the fact that his place was at Kirk's side, supporting him in any and every way possible, both romantically and professionally. He would never forgive himself if Kirk lost the captain's seat he had earned and fought constantly to prove he was worth it.

Sarek noted the weakness in Spock's resolve and continued, "You know as well as I do that despite how well he's done since the Nero incident, Starfleet has been looking for any reason at all to get him out of that captain's seat. They think he is too young, too immature to be held responsible for the lives of his crew and the reputation of the Federation! Finding out about your relationship would be the end of his career, not just as a captain, but as a Starfleet officer all together! And I do not think you need me to inform you as to what that would mean for you as well…"

"Then what would you have me do?!?" Spock shot back, the anger beginning to rise in him as well. "Surely you do not expect me to simply give up the man I love to preserve our careers in Starfleet! I would sooner die a thousand deaths than live a lie the rest of my life!"

"No," Sarek said, his expression stone cold. "I expect you to leave Starfleet."

Both Spock and Prime both looked at Sarek as though he had lost his mind. Prime was the first to speak up, "Sarek, you cannot possibly mean…"

"I do believe you have already spoken your peace, Surok," Sarek spat, eyes still focused on Spock. "You will leave my residence at once, and do _not _enter it again without knocking."

Hurt flashed briefly in Prime's eyes before he smothered it in the typical Vulcan way of hiding their emotions behind a stoic mask. "Very well," he said. "It shall be as you wish."

Prime turned around and left the two alone to discuss things. Spock walked closer to his father and through narrowed eyes stared at him. The fear he had felt when he initially began talking to him was gone, replaced by a rage that he wasn't sure he wanted to hold in.

"You seriously expect me to leave Starfleet just because you do not want me to be engaged to my superior officer?"

"No," Sarek said, returning the deadly gaze his son shot at him. "I expect you to leave Starfleet to assist with the colony. Your engagement to Captain James T. Kirk was not officially recognized by the Vulcan High Council, so as far as I am concerned, it does not exist."

"_Father!_"

"Or would you rather I go straight to Earth this very instant and tell Starfleet that the Enterprise is in need of both a new commander _and _a new captain?"

Spock fell silent, but his fists were clenched so tightly he could feel the skin of his palms break where his fingernails dug in.

"I will allow your engagement to Captain Kirk, Spock," Sarek said, earning a skeptical raised eyebrow from his son, "but the price for your secrecy after all I risked for you is for you to be apart from him. I ask for six months here on the colony aiding our scientists with their research and our professors with educating the young ones. During those six months, you will tell me _everything _that transpired between you and Captain Kirk that resulted in your engagement.

"These six months will serve as a test of your relationship. After those six months are over, if I am not satisfied with your reasoning for choosing him as a life mate or if your resolve has faded in any way, I will force you two to nullify your bond and have you stationed on separate ships. Then you will form a true life bond with T'Maire and marry her. Only then will I permit you to return to and remain in Starfleet."

"And if my reasons are satisfactory?" Spock said through clenched teeth.

"Then things will be as they were before. You will return to the Enterprise as its commander and you will remain engaged to Captain Kirk…but only after you explain your actions to the Vulcan High Council."

"Do you take pleasure in the misery you condemn me to?"

"No more than you take pleasure in making a fool out of me and hiding pertinent information such as this from me. You have until the end of the day to tell me your decision Spock. If you fail to decide by then, I will personally submit your resignation to Starfleet and inform them of your actions with Captain Kirk."

Sarek walked past Spock without saying another word. Now alone with his anger, Spock closed his eyes and let the tears he had held back during their entire conversation fall from his eyes. Not even the smell of his mother's favorite scent could soothe the pain in his heart.

* * *

After Kirk had calmed down, he beamed back down to the planet. Spock had been gone for far too long and they needed to get back to their exploration now that his _pon farr_ was over. After some effort, he back tracked his path to Prime's house and knocked on his door. Grim faced, Prime opened the door and peered sadly at Kirk. Without saying a word, he moved aside and allowed Kirk to walk inside.

Sitting in a chair close to the fireplace was Spock, whose head was in his hands. Guilt immediately washed over Kirk when he felt the sadness that emanated from him. Slowly, he walked over to Spock and placed a hand on his shoulder. Spock lifted his head and watched as Kirk lowered himself to his knees.

In a soft voice, Kirk said, "I'm sorry for blowing up at you like that…"

"You had every right to be upset…"

"I still shouldn't have reacted that way. I wasn't thinking about what you were going through, I only thought about myself. It's just…" he sighed. "When you told me you never told your father about us, it made me feel like you were ashamed of our relationship. Like it was okay to let anyone else know that we were together, but not your father."

"I had good reason to hide it…"

"I know. I know. I was still hurt though. But again, I shouldn't have reacted like I did. So…I'm sorry. Please don't be sad anymore."

"If only it were that easy," Spock said morosely. "There is something that I need to tell you Jim."

Kirk gave a worried look at Spock. "Wh-what is it?"

Spock took a deep breath and said, "I will not be coming with you when you leave New Vulcan."

"_What?_" Kirk said in utter disbelief. "_Why?_"

"It is the condition for which my father is allowing me to remain engaged to you. I am to remain here on New Vulcan to assist with the colony's development for six months. I have already notified Starfleet of my temporary leave of absence and they have approved it."

Kirk reached out and grabbed Spock by the shoulders and shook him. "But _why?!? _Why would you do that?!? You _love _being on the Enterprise! What would suddenly make you want to stay here?"

"Our father," Prime said.

"What?" Kirk looked at Prime, confused at what Sarek had to do with Spock staying on New Vulcan.

"Sarek has demanded that Spock stay here on New Vulcan as punishment for withholding your relationship from him. He also wishes to test the strength of your love. The other alternative he offered was to notify Starfleet of your relationship and force you both to lose your positions on the Enterprise."

Kirk turned to Spock and asked, "Is that true?!?"

Spock nodded and added, "He also wishes me to recount everything about our relationship. He plans to act as judge and jury on the validity of it." He scoffed bitterly. "He seems to think that you have misled me and that your intentions are far from pure. If by the end of the six months I spend here on New Vulcan he is not satisfied with our relationship, he will force me to break our life bond and marry T'Maire, since according to the Vulcan High Council _she _is my true fiancée."

"That's _bullshit!_" Kirk shouted, standing on his feet. "Even worse, that's _blackmail! _Besides, he can't make you do _anything! _You're a fucking adult for Pete's sake!"

"I am however still his child and given the Vulcans' current state…"

"Don't give me that load of crap!" Kirk interrupted. "I don't care if your race is down to its last two people, _nothing _justifies this! This is the most underhanded, sneaky, _twisted_ shit I've ever heard a Vulcan try to pull! And you're just _allowing _him to do it?!?"

Bleary dark brown eyes looked back at blazing blue eyes. Tears fell from Spock's eyes, each tear lessening Kirk's rage. "Jim…it was the only thing I could do to ensure that I could remain engaged to you and ensure the safety of at least _your _career in Starfleet. It was the only way…"

Kirk returned to his knees and held Spock close, allowing him to sob softly into his arms. Spock's arms wrapped around Kirk's back and grabbed the fabric of his shirt. Kirk felt the pain and sadness flow through their mind link and struggled to maintain his composure as well. He shushed Spock and whispered, "It's okay…it's okay…I'm sorry…"

He waited until Spock calmed down before letting him go. He used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the Vulcan's tears from his face and said, "I don't want to leave you here, but if you've already notified Starfleet, there's nothing more I can do. If I contact them now and tell them to reverse it, they'll know something is wrong. We'll let it be for now, but this isn't over."

"What are you going to do?" Spock croaked.

"I'm taking matters into my own hands Spock." Kirk said. "That's all I'll tell you for now. You have enough on your plate as it is."

Kirk leaned forward and kissed Spock tenderly. "He can try to keep us separated, but we still have our bond. We'll always be together through that, even if we can't physically be together."

Spock nodded and watched as Kirk stood and walked over to Prime. In a low voice, he said, "I don't think I have to ask you to be there for him, do I?"

Prime shook his head. "I will be by his side to comfort him as much as I can Jim."

Kirk gave a curt nod and then left Prime's home, blowing a kiss at Spock and waving goodbye before he did. When the door closed behind him, he took a moment to collect himself. _That was one hell of a bombshell he dropped on me, _he thought, _but not as big as the one I'm going to drop on Sarek…_


	19. Vengeance and Sacrifice

**Ch 18: Vengeance and Sacrifice**

For the second time that day, Sarek's meditation was interrupted, this time by a loud pounding on his front door. His eyes opened as he let out a sigh of frustration. Why was it that everyone seemed to want to bother him _now _of all times? He unfolded his legs and rose to his feet. As he moved through his house toward the door, there was another loud pounding. Sarek began to feel that perhaps there was an emergency, as no Vulcan would knock with such vigor otherwise.

The look on Sarek's face was one of priceless astonishment when he saw not a Vulcan face before him, but the face of Captain James T. Kirk. At that moment in time Kirk wished that he had a camera to capture the look on Sarek's face for all eternity, but the image in his mind would have to suffice. His lips curled up into a cruel yet polite smile and said, "Good evening Sarek. Could you spare a minute to talk with me please?"

Sarek recovered from his initial surprise and regained his stony facial expression. "I was in the middle of my meditations, but considering it is not often I receive a visit at my personal residence from the captain of the Enterprise, my meditations can wait. Please come in."

Kirk stepped inside and marveled at the Vulcan's home. It didn't have the warmth that Spock Prime's home did, but considering his was more of a traditional Vulcan home without the human touches that Prime's home had, it was still impressive. None of the furniture that was found in his living room was erroneous; there were just enough chairs to seat multiple people in case he had to hold a meeting in his home. The dining room table was large enough to seat him and three other people. There was a fireplace, but unlike the one in Prime's home, it was only lit if the weather outside was cold enough to warrant it. The walls were bare save a few artifacts hung up solely for aesthetic reasons.

"What is it you wish to discuss Captain?" Sarek asked, drawing Kirk's attention away from his decor.

Kirk turned to Sarek and gave his best diplomatic smile. "I came to talk to you about Spock."

Sarek sighed. "It seems that Spock is quite the popular topic today. What is it that _you _have to say about him?"

"I'm going to tell Starfleet about our relationship."

Though Sarek's facial expression remained as stony as before, his eyes slowly widened at Kirk's words. Slowly, he said, "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me," Kirk said, smirking. "I'm going to tell Starfleet about our relationship."

Sarek's eyes stared at Kirk with the same laser hot stare he had given Spock and Prime earlier. "Are you aware of the implications of telling Starfleet that you are fraternizing with your first officer?"

If Sarek had expected Kirk to back down, or even to falter, he was sadly disappointed. Kirk took a step closer to Sarek and looking him dead in the eyes with an equally intense stare said, "Yeah, I do. It sure as hell beats you trying to use that as blackmail to keep him here with you on New Vulcan."

"Telling Starfleet will not change anything in regards to Spock staying here with me."

"I don't intend it to," Kirk said with the same cruelly polite smile he greeted Sarek with. "I just want to give you a smaller pile of bargaining chips to try and play against him with."

"This is not a game Captain…"

"No, it's not," Kirk interrupted. The smile on his face vanished as he became deadly serious. "That's why I don't appreciate you trying to tie Spock down to this hunk of rock so _you _can decide whether or not he should be in a relationship with me. I'm going to be very frank with you Sarek: I don't take threats to my relationship with Spock lightly, and you may be his father, but I'm not letting you stand between me and him. You don't approve of him being engaged to me? _Fine. _But don't put him in a position where he has to choose between Starfleet and me. It's not fair and it's not right."

"You want to talk about what you believe is not _right?_" Sarek said, closing the gap between them. "I will tell you what is not right. It is not right for two high ranking Starfleet officers to behave unprofessionally together. It is not right for a father to be left in the dark about his child's romantic life. It is _not right _for a father to walk in on his son and his secret fiancé practicing _sodomy _in another's household!"

"Is that what this is about?!?" Kirk shouted. "Is this all about the fact that you walked in on me and Spock? Well you know what, I'm sorry! It's not exactly like I wanted to have sex in someone else's house, but Spock carted me off like some cave man! Trust me, having you walk in on us was _not _on my to-do list for the day!"

"Spare me your humor!" Sarek spat. "I could care less how you feel about the subject! I can forgive the fact that Spock's judgment was lax due to his _pon farr, _but what I _cannot _forgive is the fact that your relationship was kept a secret from me!"

"That makes two of us!"

"You dare to imply that this was _Spock's _doing?!?"

Kirk glared at Sarek. "I don't believe you! You think that it was _my _idea for Spock to keep our relationship a secret from you?"

"As you humans say, 'if the shoe fits, wear it.' I have heard of your promiscuous ways Captain Kirk. I have heard of the numerous female conquests you had while you were in the academy, and while I never thought I would see the day that your interests would sway to men, I rue the day you seduced my son into thinking he was in love with you and forcing him to hide it from me!"

"_I DID NOT SEDUCE SPOCK!" _

Kirk was furious. He had dealt with people having the wrong idea about him for years, but to have his future father-in-law accuse him of seducing Spock was _not _something he was going to tolerate. He stuck his arm out and pushed Sarek against the door, his molten hot gaze threatening to set the Vulcan's head on fire. He pointed at Sarek and rumbled, "Now you listen to me, and you listen good, because I will _never _repeat myself again. You can say whatever you want about me, but if you _ever _say that I seduced Spock or otherwise imply that our love is _anything _but genuine again, so help me God I will rip those pointed ears right off of your head and shove them where the sun doesn't shine!

Kirk ignored the surprised and somewhat frightened look on Sarek's face. It was highly likely that even in his old age, Sarek could easily trounce Kirk, but to see such an explosion of emotion directed at him was still jarring. "Now I get that you love your son and that you want the best for him. I may not be a parent, but that doesn't mean I don't understand. That being said, I will _not _have you slandering me simply because you don't want to believe that Spock could ever have fallen in love with me of his own accord. If you knew _half _of what Spock and I have been through together then you'd know that what we share isn't just some casual fuck here and there. So you take your six months with him and you listen _carefully _to everything he tells you, and if you still don't believe him? _Mind meld _with him. That will give you all the proof you need because the mind doesn't lie."

He released Sarek and stepped back. They stared so intently at each other that if either faltered for a minute, the other's head might explode into pieces. Sarek straightened his outfit and took a step forward away from the door. "I have heard your words Kirk and will keep them in mind," he said. "I simply hope you know that by telling Starfleet about your relationship with Spock, you are potentially throwing both his _and _your careers away."

"I'm sure it'll sound better coming from me than from the Vulcan ambassador," Kirk said. "And if it comes down to it, Spock and I could always move to Iowa and live the rest of our lives together."

Sarek opened the door and held it open for Kirk. "You presume he would still be willing to be with you after that."

Smirking, Kirk said, "Obviously you don't know your son as well as you think you do," before walking through the door. He stopped just as Sarek began to close the door on him and put his hand on it, preventing it from moving any further. "Oh, and one last thing? Your son gives _excellent_ blow jobs."

Kirk barely stepped out of the way in time to avoid having his hand slammed into the door. Sarek held a hand against the door and gasped for air as he allowed himself to visibly show his anger. His free hand balled into a fist and punched the door in front of him. Sarek had been mad before, but never as mad as he was right then and there. He now understood why his son had almost choked the infuriating blonde man to death so many months ago…

* * *

The elevator door to the bridge opened to reveal a rather unhappy looking Captain Kirk. He walked over to the place where Uhura sat and said out loud, "Sulu, take us out of here at warp one. Any direction will do." When he saw Sulu turn in his chair and begin inputting the commands into the console, he turned to Uhura and said, "Uhura, I need you to make two transmissions for me, one for Admiral Pike at Starfleet and one for T'Maire at Star Base 215."

Uhura raised an eyebrow at Kirk and was about to question why he needed to contact both Starfleet _and _Star Base 215 when she spotted the fire in his eyes. She knew better than to question his orders when he had that look and held her tongue. Instead she nodded and said, "Aye Captain," before pressing multiple buttons on her console. "Should I patch them through to the telecomm in your quarters?"

She waited for a response that never came. When she turned around, Kirk was already gone. Frowning, she huffed, "Guess that's a 'yes'…"

* * *

Kirk tapped impatiently on his desk as he waited for a transmission to come in. He had been waiting for five minutes and was getting rather antsy. _Dammit, what's taking her so long? _He raised a fist and was about to pound on the desk when he heard her voice crackling over the intercom.

_Captain, _she said, _I've gotten a response from T'Maire; she's ready to talk to you now if you're available._

"It took you long enough," Kirk snapped. "What about Starfleet?"

Uhura's voice was decidedly less polite after Kirk's little quip. _It looks like Admiral Pike has better things to do than sit around and wait for you to report to him, so he said he'll send a transmission when he's got a moment to talk._

Kirk closed his eyes and bit his lip. Uhura had been really good about not being sassy with him, but he had to admit he deserved it this time. Softening his voice, he said, "Thank you Uhura. I'm sorry about my tone. Can you transfer T'Maire to my telecomm please?"

_Of course Captain,_ Uhura said, regaining some of her former politeness. _If something is bothering you, you can talk to me about it later if you like. I know it's not Saturday, but I think I could squeeze you in to my oh-so-busy schedule._

Laughing genuinely for the first time in the last day, Kirk said, "Thanks Uhura. I'll probably take you up on that offer."

The screen in front of him glowed with the green "Incoming Transmission" words he was used to seeing whenever transmissions were rerouted to his telecomm. He pressed the button to accept the transmission and saw T'Maire's smiling face.

"Hey Jimmy!" she said in a cheery voice. "This is quite a surprise! What possessed you to send me a transmission? Did you miss the sound of my voice?"

Kirk laughed lightly at the charismatic Vulcan and found himself wishing that all Vulcans were as friendly as she was. "I did, but that's not the reason why I sent a transmission to you. I need to talk to you about Spock."

"Oh?" She tilted her head to the side and asked, "What's going on with Spockie? You two didn't have a fight, did you?"

"No, nothing like that…it's a bit of a long story actually…"

Kirk told T'Maire everything that had happened since they moment she dropped Spock off. Her eyes were wide the entire time he told the tale of how their shore leave led to Spock's premature _pon farr _and the conflict with Sarek. Her hands were pressed against her mouth when she heard that Spock was to remain on New Vulcan for six months while Sarek judged the validity of their relationship.

"That's horrible!" T'Maire cried. "I can't believe Uncle Sarek would do such a thing!"

"You and me both," Kirk said, crossing his arms. "I thought that was a very un-Vulcan thing for him to."

"Indeed it was! I'm so disappointed in him, causing his son pain intentionally like that…" T'Maire frowned. "That tears it! I didn't think this whole 'falsifying a life bond' thing was a good idea in the first place! I'm going to contact the Vulcan High Council and tell them the truth!"

Kirk leaned forward and quickly said, "Whooooa, no, no, no! Don't do that!"

T'Maire looked at Kirk in confusion. "Why not?!?" she asked. "I see no reason to continue this lie if Uncle Sarek is going to behave like that!"

"Because," Kirk said, "telling the Vulcan High Council the truth after you and Spock just became 'engaged' two weeks ago won't just look bad for Sarek; it'll look bad for you and Spock too!"

T'Maire's eyes widened. "Oh…you're right. I didn't think about that…"

"I figured you hadn't," Kirk said. "Look, I've already thought of how to handle that situation. According to Sarek, any engagement ceremony that wasn't performed before the Vulcan High Council is about as good as no engagement ceremony at all, right?"

T'Maire nodded. "Any and all engagement ceremonies must be recognized and approved by the Vulcan High Council in order for the couple to be married legally. Even if a Vulcan female were to marry a non-Vulcan male, their engagement must be performed before them or they will never be legally wed, even if by the non-Vulcan party's laws they are. That means that at any time, the Vulcan High Council could force a Vulcan to divorce their current spouse and marry the life mate that's documented in their records."

"Exactly. So what I need you to do is sometime within the next six months contact the Vulcan High Council and request the nullification of your engagement. Do nullifications have to be done before them as well?"

"I…I don't know," T'Maire stuttered. "To my knowledge, no life bond has ever been severed by choice."

"Then contact Surok. I'm sure he'll know for certain whether it's been done or not. I'm willing to bet any Vulcan you ask will probably tell you differently, especially when you guys are in your current predicament."

"It's likely I'll have to make special arrangements in order for them to approve it…"

"Do whatever you can. I can't make my engagement with Spock legal until yours has been stricken from the records."

T'Maire nodded. "Alright Jim, I'll contact Surok and ask him what he knows about nullifying a life bond."

Uhura's voice called over the intercom. _Captain, I have Admiral Pike waiting to speak to you._

"Crap, I gotta go," Kirk said. "I'm telling Starfleet about Spock and me."

T'Maire's eyes looked as though they were going to fly out and hit the screen in front of her. "You're telling _Starfleet?!? _Jim, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Honestly?" Kirk said, "Not really. But I have to do something to give Sarek less of an edge against Spock. If Starfleet knows and approves of it then a giant part of his argument is null and void."

She nodded and said, "I trust your judgment. Good luck Jim." She blew a kiss that Kirk accepted with a smile. With a finger wave, T'Maire ended the transmission. The green words flashed on his screen once more as he pressed the button to accept the transmission.

This time Admiral Pike's face appeared on the screen. His hair was noticeably grayer than the last time they had spoken, but Kirk chose not to mention it.

"Captain Kirk," Pike said. "You requested to speak to me?"

"Yes sir, I did," Kirk said, his tone taking on a more official and respectful tone. "I have something rather important and personal that I need to speak to you about. Is this…uh…is this a secure channel?"

Pike raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him. "Yes it is; I'm contacting your through my own private channel, which is completely unmonitored. What do you need to talk to me about?"

Kirk took a deep breath and said, "It's regarding me and Commander Spock sir… We…uh…we're, uhm…" Now that Kirk was finally sitting in front of Admiral Pike, he found himself losing the courage to tell him the truth.

Fortunately, Kirk didn't need to broach the subject; Pike brought it up for him. "You and Spock are in a relationship. A monogamous one. He proposed to you last year and you said 'yes'. You spent your shore leave celebrating your engagement together."

Flabbergasted by Pike's knowledge of his relationship with Spock, Kirk stuttered, "H-how did you…"

Pike cut him off. "Bryce Peters has sent me numerous complaints about the 'sacrilegious relations' between the two of you. I believe the most recent complaint was in regards to 'Spock's inappropriate fondling of the captain in the middle of the hallway for all to see'. Sound about accurate?"

Kirk turned a deep red and nodded. "Uh, Spock was, uh, going through _pon farr _at the time_…_"

Pike put up a hand to silence Kirk. "Please, say no more. _Please. _If you really feel the need to explain yourself to me then you can. Just…leave out the gory details if you catch my drift."

Kirk nodded again and explained the story of his unintentional romance with Spock. He told him everything from the mind meld with the alternate version of Spock to _pon farr_ faux pas with Sarek. Pike reacted to the story at the appropriate times to show that he was not only listening but actually cared about how the two leading officers of the Enterprise became the most talked about couple on the ship. He also explained their current situation involving Sarek and Spock's seemingly random request to take six months leave helping out on New Vulcan. When Kirk finished, he looked and felt as though a large weight had been lifted off of his chest. Oddly enough, it felt good to tell Pike about his relationship with Spock. In fact, he felt very comfortable telling the whole thing to him, as if he were speaking with his father about it.

"Well," Pike said with a smile, "that's quite a tale of romance you got there Jim. Perhaps when you retire from Starfleet you should write it out as a novel and sell it. I'm sure there are plenty of lonely housewives that would love to read about your torrid affair."

"Oh, ha, ha," Kirk laughed. "Glad you think our story would sell."

Laughing, Pike said, "I do. At the very least I know a handful of women in my family alone that would read your story cover to cover." They laughed together for a moment and then grew quiet. "So," he said. "You're coming to me about your relationship because you don't want anyone to hold it over you and Spock anymore, is that it?"

"Yeah, that's exactly why. Sarek used the fact that Starfleet doesn't know about us to make Spock do what he wants him to do." Kirk shook his head. "I don't want to give anyone else the chance to use that against us."

"I understand," Pike nodded. "And I have to say, I'm rather proud of you for coming to me personally to tell me. Granted, I already knew because of Bryce, but uh…well, let's just say he's as notorious for his bigotry as you were for your womanizing in the academy. I've taken everything I've heard from him with a grain of salt. It means more to me to have the story from the horse's mouth rather than through the grapevine.

"You probably know that there are select members of Starfleet that are still rather…unconvinced that your promotion to captain was a wise choice, but considering you're coming forward yourself to announce your relationship with your first officer, everything should work out just fine. Add the fact that considering your previous behaviors you've matured and decided to settle down and have a monogamous relationship, I believe that will make your case look better.

"Luckily for you, I've been your advocate since you joined Starfleet. People have come to trust my judgment of you, so if they know that you two have my blessing, I'm sure more than enough people will follow my lead and approve it."

Kirk breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly at Pike. "Thank you sir. That really means a lot to me…"

"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do." Pike smiled and said, "Just do me one favor Jim."

Kirk shifted forward in his seat. With all that Pike was doing for him, he'd do just about anything in return. "What's that?"

"Invite me to the wedding."

Laughing lightly, Kirk said, "Sure. It'd be an honor to have you there with us sir. You can even walk me down the aisle."

"Jim, this is a private channel. If you want, you can call me Chris."

Kirk was taken aback by Admiral Pike's request to call him by his first name. True, he had known Pike for about five years, but still, not once had he ever mentioned that he should be referred to in such a casual manner. He wasn't sure what it meant and he wasn't sure how to take it. So instead of trying to make sense of it, he went with it.

"Okay…Chris," Kirk gave a half-smile. "I'll try to remember that."

Pike took a moment to just smile and look at Kirk fondly and then said, "We'll be in touch Jim. Try to make the most of the next six months without Spock. With luck they'll pass by before you know it."

With these last words Pike ended the transmission. Kirk sat for a moment staring at the screen. The talk with Admiral Pike had gone a lot better than he expected it to, and that made him feel a lot better. He felt hopeful that this was a sign that things would be okay, and without Spock by his side, it was all he had.

* * *

Sarek was finally able to meditate without any further distractions. No one else burst in to talk to him about Spock, no one else argued with him, and no one tried to reason with him about his decision to hold Spock on New Vulcan…

…At least no one physical.

The smell of sandalwood transported him back to his old home on Vulcan before it was destroyed. When he saw the distinctly human touches of decor and the crackling fire that served no purpose other than to warm one's soul, he felt himself relax. Life had been so much colder without Amanda by his side, but at least he could see her in meditation.

He saw the top of her dark brown hair peak over her favorite chair in front of the fire. When Spock was born, she spent many days and many nights sitting in that chair nursing him and singing him to sleep. The sweet memories of his family brought a smile to his face as he walked over to see her.

To his jolting surprise, the look on her face was not a serene one. Instead of the warm, comforting smile he had fallen in love with, he saw a frown. When Amanda frowned as vehemently as she was at that moment, it was always a bad sign.

Sarek swallowed hard and asked, "Amanda, why do you wear such a look on your face?"

She stared back at him with unusually cold eyes. He wondered if his own eyes had that degree of coldness to them when he was upset as well. In a low voice, she said, "You know _exactly _why I have this look on my face."

He cringed. If that was her response then that meant she had seen the whole ordeal between him and Spock, and likely the one between him and Kirk too. He opened his mouth to explain himself, but she cut him off.

"Save it. Nothing you tell me can excuse what you've just done to our son. You've purposely hurt him so you can try and control his destiny in a way that better suits your beliefs."

"Amanda, I was only doing what I could to ensure his future. I do not believe that choosing Captain Kirk as a mate was a wise decision. Starfleet looks down on fraternization between its officers…"

"…and yet the majority of Starfleet marriages are to other Starfleet officers," Amanda interrupted. "I believe you're twisting Starfleet's policy on fraternization to suit your cause. I may not have been a member of Starfleet, but I know for a fact that what Starfleet looks down upon isn't the development of lasting monogamous relationships, but casual sexual encounters with no other purpose than sating one's lust."

"That is _exactly _my point," Sarek said. "I know all about Kirk's 'romantic' history and I don't believe for a minute that he truly loves Spock."

She stared at Sarek in disbelief. "You mean you're basing this entire thing on the fact that he slept around in the academy?!? You're not going off of anything that's happened after that?" She shook her head. "I'm disappointed in you. I never thought you'd make assumptions like that without knowing the facts."

Sarek raised an eyebrow at her. "And you do?"

She stood from her seat and glared at Sarek. "As a matter of fact, _yes, _I _do._ You wouldn't know this but Captain Kirk put his life on the line to save your son from insanity. The destruction of Vulcan and my death took a larger toll on him than you ever saw. His display on the bridge was _nothing _compared to what he was going through inside his mind. If it weren't for the fact that Kirk mind melded with him, your son would be in a mental institute right now! Where would his glorious career in Starfleet be then?"

Sarek remained silent for a moment. It was true that he knew next to nothing about what happened between them after they set off for the first mission after the Nero conflict, but he never imagined that his son had been under that amount of stress.

Amanda saw the look in Sarek's eyes and came closer. Putting her hand on his face, she softened her tone and said, "Much between Kirk and Spock has happened beyond your watchful eyes. You've seen their professional endeavors, but other than the incident in Surok's home, you've seen nothing of their personal interactions. There is chemistry between them that overshadows our own. Captain Kirk is more than just Spock's superior officer; Captain Kirk is Spock's _soul mate. _They complete each other. Neither can reach their true potential without the other."

"If that is the case," Sarek said, "then their time apart will only strengthen their bond, not weaken it." He placed a hand over hers on his face and looked lovingly into her eyes. "I do not wish to dismiss all that you have said my love, but in order for me to truly believe that what you say is true, I must hear it from Spock's lips, not yours. I must see and feel the love he truly has for Captain Kirk and evaluate it for myself before I can allow their relationship.

"I will admit that while I have no aversion to our son picking a human mate, I would have preferred if he had chosen a female. However, it is not up to me to choose for him, which is why I helped him falsify a life bond with T'Maire. It _is _up to me to approve of his choice in a mate. When the Enterprise returns for Spock in six months time, I will also evaluate Kirk's true intentions. Even if Starfleet approves, if I do not, then by my word their life bond will be severed and they will be separated. However if what you say is true, regardless of my own personal feelings, I will support their engagement and assist them in making it an officially recognized one by the Vulcan High Council."

Sarek raised a questioning eyebrow at his dearly departed wife. "Does this please you?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, no, it doesn't. I don't feel like it is up to you to determine whether the love Kirk and Spock share is legitimate or not." She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. Smiling, she added, "But by doing so, it shows just how much you care about your son. You don't want him to risk throwing away both his career _and_ Kirk's career in Starfleet for something that is ill-based, and more importantly, you don't want to see him get hurt. Just be certain that you make that clear during these next six months dear."

Sarek pulled his wife close and held her tightly, breathing the smell of sandalwood in deeply. He knew that when his meditations ended she would be gone, even if the smell of her was not. He pulled her back just enough to give her a tender kiss that he filled with every bit of the love he had for her. Pressing his forehead against hers and smiling ever so slightly, he said, "I will do my best."


	20. DisComforting

**Ch 19: (Dis)Comforting**

"I said no and I _mean _no!"

Kirk chased McCoy down the hall from the mess hall. It was obvious that the doctor was trying to lose him, but Kirk wouldn't have it. "Awww, come on Bones! I already asked Uhura and she said it was okay! We're meeting around 22:00, so it's not like it'll interfere with your shift! Plus everyone's in perfect health so I doubt you'll be called in at all once your shift is over!"

McCoy picked up his pace in an effort to out walk Kirk. Of course, with only his quarters or sick bay to retreat to, he knew the effort was wasted. "Jim, I am the ship's chief medical officer; I can't just drop everything because you want to spend the night gossiping in your pajamas and eating ice cream!"

"We are _not _going to be gossiping!" Kirk sighed, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. "I'm going to talk to Uhura about what happened with Spock and it would mean a lot to me if you joined us!"

"_No means no!_"

"Come on, quick being a chicken! Look, if the ice cream and pajamas are what's bothering you about going, you can show up in whatever you want and bring some alcohol!" He lunged forward and grabbed McCoy by the shoulder, turning him around to face him. "Bones, seriously, I'm in a bad way. I need both you and Uhura right now to help me feel better."

McCoy shoved Kirk's hand off of his shoulder. "Dammit I'm a doctor, not a therapist! If you think you might be suffering from depression I can give you a hypospray filled with anti-depressant!"

Kirk shuddered at the thought of McCoy stabbing him in the neck with the hypospray. "No, absolutely not. You're not jabbing me with a hypospray, you're coming with me to Uhura's room later tonight!"

"How many times do I have to say this before it sinks through your thick ass skull?!? _Nnnnooooooo!_"

Clasping his hands together and giving his best kicked puppy dog eyes, he stared at McCoy and begged, "Come on! I really want you to be there with me! _Pleeeeeeeaasseeee??_"

He wasn't sure how Kirk did it, but he always managed to make his eyes seem to shimmer and sparkle whenever he gave him those eyes. He tried to resist, but his will was beginning to falter. "No Jim! I said…dammit quit looking at me with those eyes! I'm not going to…I said stop it! I don't wanna go!"

"But I'm needy!" Kirk pleaded, eyes beginning to fill with tears. "You can't just leave your best friend alone in his sadness when he needs you the most! What would Christine say?!?"

McCoy paused for a moment and contemplated Chapel's reaction to his ditching Kirk in his time of need. Aiming a scowl at his annoying friend, he buckled. "Alright, I'll go to your girly little sleepover thing in Uhura's room, but the moment things get too mushy I'm outta there, you hear me?"

Kirk beamed at his best friend and hugged him tightly in the middle of the hallway. "Thanks Bones!" He let the man go and then skipped off to his room. McCoy shook his head at Kirk as he disappeared down the hallway and mutter, "Damned nut job…"

He made the rest of his way to sick bay and saw Chapel sitting in a chair with her legs crossed, writing into a data pad. When she saw him enter, her face lit up with happiness. She immediately put the data pad down and stood up.

"Hey!" she said as she walked over to him. "Sorry I couldn't join you for dinner; that last patient took a bit longer than I thought it would, but I got everything taken care of!"

McCoy gave a weak smile and said, "Thank you Christine. I appreciate you finishing things up with Ensign Yamada for me."

She shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about it," she said. "It was the least I could do. Besides, I was glad to have the chance to work on a patient without supervision." She blushed slightly and suddenly became somewhat nervous. "Say Leonard…I was going over our appointments and it looks like we're pretty much free for the rest of the day. Would you like to head over to the observation deck early? We're in a particularly beautiful part of the galaxy and…well…I'm really looking forward to just sitting and looking at the stars with you."

McCoy sighed sadly. He knew he should have just told Kirk that he had a date with Chapel, but he was so adamant about him coming along that he never got the chance to tell him. It didn't help that the whole thing sounded like a giant threat to his masculinity. In a low voice, he said, "That's probably a good idea…it seems Jim wants me to join him and Uhura tonight to help him get through his first night without Spock."

Disappointment showed clearly on Chapel's face. "Oh…well, he's going through a rough time from what you told me, so I guess you should really go…"

"I don't even _want _to go, but he begged me!" McCoy said, desperate to make sure she knew that he wasn't blowing her off on purpose. "You've seen him when he gets whiny; he won't stop until he gets what he wants. He even gave me the 'kicked puppy dog eyes'…he knows I cave every time he does that…" Despite herself, Chapel giggled. McCoy glared at her and said, "It's not funny! He always pulls shit like this!"

"I'm sorry," Chapel said as she tried to stifle her laughter. "It's just really funny hearing you talk about Jim like that. Whenever you talk like that, I think of a father irritated by his favorite daughter!"

McCoy crossed his arms and frowned. "Well, he sure as hell makes me _feel_ old enough to be his father, but if he were my kid, he'd be _far _from my favorite!" He allowed himself a smirk and uncrossed his arms as Chapel gave him a hug.

"Well, as much as I hate to share you tonight, I can at least get you to myself for a little while. When is he expecting you to come over?"

"He said they're meeting in Uhura's room at around 22:00, but I'm sure he can wait for a little while." He pulled Chapel back and gave her a light but tender kiss. When the kiss broke they both had pink tinted cheeks. "Come on; let's close up the sick bay and go look at the stars. I'll even bring the wine from that little café on Kalthoria."

"Alright," Chapel said, reluctantly pulling out of McCoy's embrace and moving to tidy up the sick bay while McCoy went to his office. When he returned, he had the bottle of wine from the Nayvolo café and one of the bottles of Sirian brandy he had acquired with Scotty's help. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Uhm, why are you bringing the brandy?"

Smirking, McCoy answered, "One of Kirk's bargaining chips to get me to go to this damned thing was that I could bring alcohol. If this turns out to be half as girly as I think it will be, I'm going to need this." He patted the gallon of brandy to emphasize his point.

"If you say so," Chapel giggled. "I'll go get a couple of wine glasses for us since your hands are full." She disappeared into his office and reappeared with the glasses in her hands. "Well, we've got everything, so let's go!"

McCoy and Chapel left the empty sick bay smiling and laughing with each other as they went to go enjoy their date looking at the stars.

* * *

Kirk was scrapping the bottom of his second carton of pistachio ice cream in the last half hour. This wasn't necessarily an impressive feat, but considering that it usually took him the whole of their night together to finish just one carton, the fact that in the time it took him to explain the situation with Spock and his father to Uhura he had finished two whole cartons of ice cream was rather noticeable. He replaced the cover to the now empty pint and rose from his place on Uhura's bed. Uhura quickly put out her arm and pushed him back down on the bed.

"Uh uh," Uhura said with a shake of her head. "There is _no way_ I'm letting you eat another pint of ice cream."

Kirk gave her a dejected look. "Are you cutting me off?!?"

"You're damned right I'm cutting you off!" she said. "If I let you eat anymore ice cream either your teeth will rot or you'll go into a diabetic coma! Either way, Spock will kill me when he comes back and finds out!"

He shook his head sadly. "What's it matter? It'll be six months before he finds out."

"Oh yeah? What about your mind link thing, huh? You don't think he won't find out through that?"

"It doesn't work that way…"

"I wouldn't know," Uhura said, shooting Kirk a snide grin. "Someone stole away the last Vulcan I dated before things got that far."

The glare on Kirk's face told Uhura that he was not in a mood for her teasing. On another night he would have come back with something witty and funny, but in his current mood he had nothing to retort with. He tried again to get up from the bed, but Uhura pushed him back down again, only harder this time.

Kirk growled in frustration. "Dammit Nyota, let me get more ice cream!"

"Jim, are you planning to spend the next six months drowning your sorrows in sugary treats?"

He looked away and muttered, "Maybe…"

"Okay, and when Spock comes back and you're fifty pounds heavier from all the sweets you've binged on, what do you plan to tell him?"

He gave Uhura a smirk and said, "'Hey babe, looks like there's more cushion for the pushin'!"

Uhura winced from Kirk's crude comeback and shoved him hard. Laughing, she said, "You're disgusting! How the hell does Spock put up with you?"

Laughing as well, Kirk replied, "It's all that Vulcan patience he spent years developing. If he can meditate for hours on end he can put up with a couple of my quips." His laughter faded into a smile, and the smile faded into a sad look. "Six months is a long time without him."

Uhura put her arm around Kirk and pulled him close. "I know," she said, "But you can't let it get to you. You've got four hundred and thirty two other people on this ship to take care of in his absence. You can't afford to show any vulnerability while he's gone."

He sighed and leaned against Uhura. They sat like that only for a brief moment before a loud rap came at the door. On the other side McCoy's voice called out, "Hey, can one of you let me in? My hands are full!"

They shared a look before Uhura rose from her bed and walked to the door. She pressed the button to open it and marveled at the large bottle he held in his hand. In the other were three brandy glasses that he brought for them all to drink from. He shoved the hand holding the three glasses toward Uhura, who took two of them from him. He sat down in chair closest to the bed and placed his glass on Uhura's desk.

"Well, look who finally showed up!" Kirk said with a raised eyebrow. "I told you we were meeting at 22:00; it's 22:38! Your shift ended like an hour and a half ago! What've you been up to?"

"First off I had to stop back by sick bay to grab enough glasses for all three of us to drink from. If you must know what I was doing before that, I was cutting a date with Christine short so I could come here to be with you two."

Uhura shot an angry look at Kirk. "Jim! You made him come here when he had a date with _Christine?!?"_

McCoy waved the two off before Jim could protest. "Don't give him a hard time Uhura," McCoy said. "I didn't tell him I had a date with Christine."

"Why didn't you say something?" Kirk asked. "If you had just said that you were going on a date with her in the first place, I wouldn't have kept bugging you like that! God, now I feel like an ass for pestering you so damned much!"

"What, you gotta cock block someone before you apologize for being an ass?"

The angry glare on Kirk's face and the pillow that flew at McCoy's face was the answer to his question. McCoy scowled back at Kirk as he took the pillow and chunked it back at him. Pointing at him, he said, "You keep that up and I'll be leaving with my brandy!"

Kirk crossed his arms and snapped his head away from McCoy. "See if I care!" he said with an indignant tone. "I'm sure you'd rather spend time with Christine anyway!"

"Alright girls, quit your bickering," Uhura said, gaining two angry glares in response. "McCoy, quit being an ass. Jim, quit being a pouty bitch. I swear you two peck at each other like two old hens!"

"We do not!" Kirk and McCoy proclaimed in unison. They glared at each other again before McCoy opened his bottle of brandy. As he poured himself a glass, he said, "I don't even know why I'm bothering to share something of this quality with you when you're copping an attitude like that with me."

Uhura handed Kirk a glass and said, "I don't know either. He's all depressed because Spock's gone and was trying to overdose on ice cream before you came in. Letting him drink alcohol in his state is probably a poor idea."

"Yeah," McCoy agreed, "but what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help him drown his sorrows?" He put the mouth of the bottle over Kirk's glass and poured him a generous helping of brandy.

Kirk took a moment to swirl the brandy carefully in the glass and inhale its scent. The familiar smell of Sirian fruit and alcohol wafted into his nostril. He quirked an eyebrow at McCoy and said, "Sirian fruit?"

McCoy shrugged as poured a healthy amount of the brandy into Uhura's glass as well. "Don't ask me; it seems the Sirians are obsessed with Sirian fruit."

"I noticed," Kirk said before taking a sip. His eyes lit up at the surprising tingling sensation on his tongue. "Wow," he said, "trippy. Never thought I'd ever drink a carbonated fruit flavored brandy and enjoy it."

"I thought the same thing," McCoy said as he drank from his own cup. "Don't let it fool you though. It goes down just as smooth as a well aged brandy and packs one hell of a punch if you drink too much of it."

As McCoy was saying this, Kirk was downing the entirety of the glass' contents. He lowered his head and gave his glass a satisfied look. "Good to know." He shoved the glass in McCoy's direction and demanded, "Fill 'er back up."

"You know," McCoy said, shaking his head as he refilled the glass, "if your liver shrivels up into a black lump of dead tissue from drinking this stuff en mass, I'm not doing the surgery on you."

Kirk scoffed. "This coming from the man who's giving me a refill…"

"So," Uhura began after drinking a considerable amount from her own glass, "how'd your date with Chapel go?"

"Good," McCoy said. A dreamy look spread on his face as he smiled. "We spent the last three hours just looking at the stars and talking. It was nice."

"Awww…" Kirk said, hiccupping from his second downed glass of brandy. "Isn't that sweet…the good doctor's finally got him a chunk of romance…"

"Lay off," Uhura said as she shot an angry glance at Kirk. He waved her off with his free hand as McCoy filled his glass up for a third time. She turned back to McCoy and smiled, "I'm glad things are going good between you and Christine Leonard."

"Thank you," McCoy said, returning the smile. "I'm glad _someone _here is…"

Kirk drank a few gulps of his brandy and left nearly a quarter of it in his glass. "I never said I wasn't happy for you! I said what I did in earnest…"

"…and sounded like an ass in the process…" McCoy muttered.

"Okay, are you two going to be like this for the rest of the night?" Uhura asked. She was getting tired of their squabbling really fast. "Look Jim, I know you're bummed out that Spock is gone and his dad doesn't approve of your relationship, but if you're going to be like this then maybe we should just call this whole thing off. The whole point of us being here is to cheer you up, but you seem to be rather content on staying in a bad mood. I don't think you have a right to give McCoy such a hard time when he cut his date short to be here and support you."

Kirk downed the rest of his brandy and slammed the glass on the desk. "You know what? I'm _sorry _that I even asked him to come! I thought having my best friend here with me would help me feel better, but apparently he'd rather spend his time with his new girlfriend than with me!"

"Listen here," McCoy growled, pointing at Kirk, "you _told _me to get over you and pursue things with Christine. Now that I've finally done that, you're getting all pissy about it! I came here as a personal favor to you because you _begged _me to be here and wouldn't leave me alone until I said yes! Not _once _did you stop to think that maybe I'd have plans for the night; you just _assumed _I'd be available to stay by your side and hold your hand while you boo-hoo about spending the next six months away from your fiancé! You need to get the hell over yourself and realize that the world doesn't revolve around you!"

"_Fuck you!_" Kirk spat. The alcohol he had rapidly consumed had gone straight to his head and was making it hard for him to control himself and what he said. "You want me to pat you on the back for finally growing a pair of balls and pursuing Christine after pining away for me for a year and a half? _Fine! _Good for you Bones! So good to know that Scotty had to practically _hold your hand_ to get you to ask her out on a double date, because God knows you _never _would have done it on your own if he hadn't!"

"_ENOUGH!_" Uhura screamed. Both McCoy and Kirk jumped and shut their traps. She shot daggers at both of the men with her chocolate colored eyes. "You two are pathetic!" she said in a lower voice. "If you ask me, you _both _have your heads up your asses! Leonard, if you wanted to continue your date with Christine then you shouldn't have even come here. As much of a dick as Jim is being right now, he has a right to be upset. You should have just told him up front that you had plans tonight and tried scheduling something later."

"I _told _you he…"

"_I don't care!_" She cut McCoy off before he could retort. "You play like you're so much more mature than Jim, but you're just as bad as he is! The _adult _thing would've been to just tell him why you couldn't come. Even if he _is _being whiny, he would've accepted it and we wouldn't even be arguing like this!"

"You know what," Kirk said, standing up. "Forget it. I'll just deal with this on my own. Neither of you have to bother with me being whiny or messing up your personal plans anymore. Guess it was stupid to think my friends would help me feel better."

He walked across the room and left, ignoring both Uhura and McCoy's cries for him to come back.

* * *

When Kirk reached his room, he face planted on to his bed, allowing his depression to wash over him. Not only was he about to spend the next six months sleeping alone in his bed, but he wouldn't even have Uhura or McCoy to lean on for support. His heart ached at the very thought of not being able to see, touch, kiss, or hug Spock for six whole months.

Biting his lip, he fought back his tears as anger at Sarek gripped his insides. _Damn that bastard for keeping us apart like this! _A balled up fist pounded on the pillow above his head. _I swear, the next time I see that pointy-eared bastard I'm going to punch him in the face!_ The alcohol loosened his control on his already overwhelming sadness. A tear escaped the corner of his eye and tracked a path down the side of his face to soak into his bed. This pioneer tear carved the path for more tears of anger and sadness to fall from Kirk's face. His body began to convulse from the heart wrenching sobs that came out of his mouth.

_Jim? Are you alright?_

Started at the sound of Spock's soothing voice inside his head, Kirk's head rose from the bed and his tears ceased to fall. He called out loud to his fiancé, "Spock?"

_Yes Jim, _Spock said through their mind link, _it is me. Why are you crying?_

He sat up on the bed and communicated to Spock using his mind. _How did you know I'm crying? _He said,hurriedly wiping away the tears that had flooded down his face after the first one as if Spock could see him.

Kirk felt Spock smile through their link._ I can feel what you feel through our link, remember?_

_Oh…right…_ Kirk had forgotten just how much could be sensed through their link. In the year that they were engaged, the most they used their link for was communicating with each other. It was only when Spock left briefly for New Vulcan that he was able to experience more of their abilities. He chewed his lip to try and keep himself from crying anymore. _Sorry…I'm kinda having a bad night. We haven't even been apart a full day yet and I miss you already._

_And I, you. _Spock said sincerely.

_Where are you right now?_

_I am lying down in Prime's guest bedroom._ _I am currently not on speaking terms with my father given our present situation. Prime understands completely and has offered the use of his guest bedroom to me so that I would not have to face my father more than I have to._

Kirk nodded. Since he had the time to do so, he decided to relay the day's events to Spock. _I told T'Maire about what happened with Sarek. She's planning on notifying the Vulcan High Council sometime that she wants to nullify your 'life bond' with her so we can make our engagement official when this whole mess is over. _

He felt Spock's eyebrows rise in surprise. _That is an admiral act on her behalf._

_Oh come on Spock, _Kirk grinned. _You know she'd do anything for you._

_Indeed she would, _Spock agreed. _I suppose this is what is it like to have a 'best friend'._

The grin quickly faded from Kirk's face. He flinched at the words 'best friend' and hoped that Spock would ignore it. Luckily, he did. He continued on, _I also told Admiral Pike about our relationship._

_Admiral Pike? _Spock asked, his nervousness flooding through Kirk's mind. _What did he have to say?_

_He gave us his blessing, Spock. Apparently he already knew about us. Seems that Corporal Bryce Peters has been sending him complaints about the Enterprise's crew fraternizing with each other and we've been his favorite topic._

Spock was silent for a while. _It is good that Admiral Pike gives us his blessing, _he finally said. _He is a good man._

_He is, _Kirk agreed.

They were silent for a few minutes, Kirk's depression deepening as the Enterprise moved further and further away from New Vulcan. Spock could feel the depression through their link and pursed his lips. _Jim, close your eyes, _Spock said suddenly.

_What…?_

_Just do it, _he said softly yet firmly. Kirk let his eyes slide closed and felt himself sinking into his sub-consciousness. Suddenly the darkness around him burst into the familiar swirls of blue and yellow. Kirk looked around and saw Spock sitting cross-legged a few meters away from him. Walking over, he sat next to the Vulcan, who smiled at him. "Better?"

"Much," Kirk said with a small smile, leaning against Spock's arm.

"You never did tell me why you were crying." Spock said, wrapping Kirk in a one-armed hug. "Is it because we are not together?"

"Amongst things," Kirk said in a small voice. Sighing, he added, "I'd rather not go into right now though…"

"Perhaps some sleep would help you feel better," he murmured, running his fingers through Kirk's hair. "I can feel your fatigue so very plainly. I can also feel the alcohol that is aggravating your current mood."

Blushing, Kirk chose not to response verbally to Spock's comment; his body language gave all the response necessary as he fidgeted uncomfortably. He shook his head and said, "It doesn't feel right sleeping without you there."

Spock kissed his cheek lovingly. "I will still be here," he murmured. "Lay down, Jim."

Too tired to think of a quick retort, Kirk followed Spock directions and laid his head against the Vulcan's thigh. Spock ran his fingers comfortingly through Kirk's hair as the blond man let his eyes drift closed. As he began to sing his mother's lullaby softly, Kirk felt his sadness lift. He felt his body relax as he began to fall asleep. Spock watched as Kirk's presence faded slowly from their joined subconscious and left one last lingering kiss on the man's lips.

The sound of Spock's voice whispering "I love you…"rang in Kirk's ears as he succumbed to sleep.

Back on New Vulcan, Spock felt himself rising from within himself to return back to the room he currently occupied. Opening his eyes and raising himself into a standing position, he began to ready himself for bed. He hadn't left his fiancé with much before he had fallen asleep, but he hoped that it would be enough to bring him a little bit of comfort as he slept through the night.

Lying down on his bed, he closed his eyes. Though he had done what he could to comfort Kirk, he found himself in need of comforting as well. He feared that he would not sleep much through the night when he felt his mother's presence. Even through his closed eyes he could see her smiling down on him and feel her hand stroking his hair as she sat next to him on the bed. For the first time since he was a child, he heard her sing her lullaby to him to soothe him to sleep. As a tear rolled down his face, he felt himself slip into a peaceful slumber.


	21. Setting Things Right

**Ch 20: Setting Things Right**

The next couple of weeks proved to be incredibly awkward for everyone on board the Enterprise. The tension between Uhura, Kirk, and McCoy was thick enough to cut a knife. Kirk was unusually short with both of them whenever they spoke, which was solely on duty. Kirk was normally good at keeping his personal relationships separate from his work relationships, but with Spock gone, his normal cool and collected demeanor was visibly rattled. Though his treatment of other crew members was as cordial as usual, many feared speaking with him.

Fortunately Kirk was getting enough sleep at night despite his depression. Having Spock by his side made the nights much easier to endure, even if they could only be together through their mind link. The days, however, were grueling. He found it hard to keep his attention on the task at hand and made repeat visits to the mess hall to indulge himself in something sweet to take his mind off of his sadness. He wouldn't do anything to keep himself active; if he wasn't on duty, he was eating in the mess hall, and when he wasn't there, he was crying alone in his room while watching sappy movies that he normally wouldn't have been caught dead watching.

In the two weeks since Spock had been left on New Vulcan, Kirk had gained ten pounds. Technically, the weight gain was only slightly noticeable, but when Kirk stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, he found himself obsessing over the lack of definition in his build. This, of course, made Kirk want to eat more instead of working the extra weight off.

Uhura decided that this couldn't go on any longer and took it upon herself to go up to Kirk and try to make up with him. They may not have been best friends, but she had come to care about him and didn't want to see him so miserable. She caught him on his way out of the mess hall.

"Hey Jim!" she called out. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Kirk stopped walking and sighed. "What do you want?"

Uhura tried to ignore his curtness and took a deep breath. "I know I should have come to you sooner, but I want to apologize to you about what happened in my room a while back."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What do you have to apologize for? According to both you _and _McCoy, I was just being whiny. If anyone should apologize it should be me for bugging both of you with my problems."

Kirk tried to walk past Uhura but she grabbed his arm and held him in place. "Don't give me that bullshit Jim. You came to me and McCoy because you were upset, and we did a shitty job of trying to cheer you up." She sighed and looked up at his eyes, which had lost their usual luminosity. "I'm sorry."

Kirk remained silent for a moment. He then turned and asked, "Is that all?"

Uhura looked at him briefly and then dropped her eyes down to the floor. "Yeah…" she said, removing her hand from his arm. "That's all." She turned on her heel and went inside the mess hall, allowing Kirk to walk away.

When she entered the mess hall and picked up her order of salad from the replicator, she saw Chapel wave at her from one of the tables. She gave a small wave and a weak smile as she made her way over with her tray. Dropping her tray on the table, she flopped into the seat and sighed heavily.

Chapel raised an eyebrow at her. "Bad day?"

"No, it's not that…" Uhura said. She picked up her fork and began stabbing at her salad with her fork. "I tried apologizing to Jim about what happened in my room almost three weeks ago and he pretty much just blew me off."

"Ouch," Chapel said as she took a sip of her water. "Guess he's still upset, huh?"

"I don't blame him. Leonard and I really dropped the ball."

"At least you _tried _apologizing." Chapel scoffed. "Every time I mention it to Leonard he bites my head off."

Uhura sighed again and dropped her fork. "This is bad. It's obvious that Jim's depressed too. You can tell just by looking at him.

"Doesn't help that he's gained weight…"

"Isn't Leonard the least bit concerned about Kirk's health?"

"Of course he is!" Chapel said with a raised voice. "He may be mad, but he's not heartless! He's very concerned, but he refuses to seek Kirk out!" She lowered her voice and did her best McCoy impression. "'Jim's a big boy, if something's wrong with him, he knows where to go! I'm not holdin' his hand anymore!'"

Uhura laughed and applauded Chapel for her scarily accurate impression of McCoy. Chapel smirked and said, "If you think that was good, you should hear my Scotty!"

"What's this about meh?"

They turned around and spotted Scotty standing behind them with a huge roast beef sandwich on his tray. He leaned over and planted a kiss on Uhura's cheek and then sat down next to her.

"We're talking about Jim and Leonard," Uhura said, filling Scotty in. "Christine just did an excellent impression of our cranky yet lovable doctor and was about to do you."

"Really?" Scotty gave Chapel an intrigued smile and said, "Well, let's hear it!"

Chapel blushed and waved her hands. "Uh, maybe some other time. We're trying to figure out what to do about this whole issue with Jim's depression. Uhura tried apologizing but he blew her off, and Leonard won't even consider going to see him, not even to check on his health."

"Is that true?" Scotty turned to Uhura and looked at her face. He could see the worry clearly on her face as she nodded sadly. He frowned; he hated seeing his girlfriend look so upset. When he looked at Chapel, he saw the same sad look on her face as well. He slammed a fist on the table and said, "Ah'm not gonna have two beautiful girls lookin' down because tha captain an' tha doctor are havin' a spat! Ah'm gonna go see them both an' get them ta apologize like adults!"

He picked up one half of his sandwich and said, "Right after ah eat meh lunch," before taking a giant bite.

* * *

"You wanted to see me Scotty?" McCoy asked. When he saw Scotty enter sick bay and request to speak to him in private, they had moved into his office and closed the door behind them. McCoy had missed the knowing look and nods that Scotty and Chapel exchanged before she left the sick bay to allow them to be alone.

"Aye Doctor," Scotty said, his tone serious. "Ah want ta talk ta ya about tha captain."

McCoy froze and gave Scotty a death glare. Even after three weeks, Kirk was still a sensitive topic for him. He had known it was too good to be true when Chapel stopped bringing him up; it was only a matter of time before someone came to him and bugged him about it. Interestingly enough, it turned out to be Scotty who bring it up. He had expected Uhura to come to him and nag his ear off, but considering Scotty was her boyfriend, it seemed natural that she's send him to do her dirty work.

"Ye kin glare at meh all ye want Doctor; ah'm not leavin' until ye promise me ye'll apologize ta him an' check him out."

Ever the stubborn one, McCoy crossed his arms and protested, "Jim's not a child. If he thinks he needs medical help then he'll come to me. It's not like I've banned him from sick bay…"

"No, but ye refuse ta take tha initiative an' seek 'im out." Scotty came closer to the desk McCoy sat at and leaned over. "Leonard, he's gainin' weight, an' not in a healthy way. Tha crew keeps seein' him gorge on blueberry cobbler an' pies an' cakes an' tha like. He hardly eats anything that's not dessert, an' when he _does _eat something else, it's just as fatty as tha desserts! He's killin' himself! Slowly and surely he's killin' himself! At this rate he'll have a heart attack before Spock gets back ta snap him outta it!"

McCoy stirred in his seat. He knew Kirk was in bad shape, but he didn't think things were that bad. If he had, he would've swallowed his pride and gone to see Kirk immediately. He may have been mad at Kirk for thinking only of himself, but there was no way he wanted him to go through what he was going through now. The doctor in him was putting him back in touch with the best friend that cared for Kirk's well being.

The stubborn Southern in him persisted though. Angrily, he shouted, "If he's in such a bad condition then he should take responsibility for himself and come see me personally! I'm tired of trying to get him to do what's best for him only to be shoved off and ignored and then have him pester the hell out of me when he sees fit! I'm the ship's chief medical officer! I'm in charge of more than just the captain's well being!"

Beginning to get angry himself, Scotty pressed on. "Then ye'll be interested ta know that it's not just his eatin' habits that are worrysome; he's not as alert as he was before. He's makin' stupid mistakes an' overseein' glaringly obvious details! If we went in ta a conflict with him in his current state, he'd put tha whole ship in danger!"

"Then _you _go tell him that and make him come see me! I'm not going out of my way to seek him out!"

Scotty slammed his hands flat on the desk before him. "Dammit man, stop actin' like a child! Ah don' care which o' ye are in tha right or in tha wrong, but ye've got ta get over yer stubbornness and go drag him here yerself, whether either of ye like it or not! This goes beyond yer conflict with each other an' affects tha entire ship! Quit relyin' on someone else ta do yer damned job!"

Scotty and McCoy's eyes were locked onto each other. Anger swirled darkly in both of the men's eyes as they stared each other down, waiting for the other to cave in. Unsurprisingly, McCoy was the first to look away. Frustrated, he looked back at Scotty and said, "Fine! I'll seek him out and bring him here! But you're still going with me!"

"Didn't ah just say ta do it yerself?"

"Yes, and I heard you loud and clear! But just because I go up to him and tell him he needs to come with me to be treated for depression doesn't mean that he's going to listen to me! If you're that adamant about Jim getting the treatment he needs, you're going to help me, even if it means clubbing him over the head and hauling his unconscious body here!"

McCoy stood from his chair and walked out of his office. Scotty followed him as he went to a drawer and prepared a hypospray. "I'm putting a potent anti-depressant into this hypospray to administer when we find Jim. If what you're saying is true, he's going to need something to turn him around immediately. The main thing we need right now is for him to function properly as a captain. Once we get him back on track, we can properly treat his symptoms specifically and directly. Chances are once we straighten him out, he won't need them anymore and he'll be fine until Spock returns."

"From what ah'm told," Scotty said, "tha only thing he needs ta get through tha time Spock is gone is his friends. Perhaps an apology from you would work better than an anti-depressant."

Sighing, McCoy turned around and faced Scotty. "You don't think I know that? I'm not stupid Scotty; I know I'm partially to blame for his current condition and I intend to apologize, but that's not going to be enough to turn him around, not at this point. It's all because I…" he paused and sighed. "It's all because I did what I do best; I drove him away by being my grumpy old self. It's probably only a matter of time before I do that with Christine too…"

"Hey now," Scotty said, putting a hand on McCoy's shoulder, "there'll be none o' that. We can't have our chief medical officer gettin' depressed too. All ye need ta do is ta talk ta him. Tell him yer sorry an' that ye were wrong. In his state, that'll probably do more than ye think."

McCoy nodded. "You're probably right Scotty. Come on, let's go find him."

* * *

Kirk clutched on tightly to his pillow as he watched Casablanca for the tenth time in the last three weeks. He had gone through a good portion of the ship's classic romantic movies, but this one called to him more than the others. Tears flowed down his face as he watched Rick and Ilsa say goodbye. It was one of the most memorable scenes amongst romantic films even in the 23rd century, and every time he saw it he pictured him and Spock parting in such a way.

From outside his door, Scotty and McCoy heard his sobs over the movie. They exchanged worried looks before Scotty knocked. The sound of the movie and the sobs stopped almost instantly as Kirk struggled to sound like he hadn't been crying. In a strained voice, he said, "Who is it?"

"It's Scotty, sir," Scotty said. "May ah come in? Ah have something ah need ta talk with ye about."

Eyes wide, Kirk turned his screen off and replaced his pillow on the bed. He ran into the bathroom and splashed his face with water. When he looked up at his reflection, he cringed at the noticeably red eyes that persisted. He grabbed a hand towel and scrubbed furiously at his face. He hated that he was in this kind of shape, but he didn't know what to do to fix it.

Another knock came at the door as Scotty's voice called out to him. "Captain? Are ye in there?"

Kirk quickly put the towel back on the rack and yelled, "Yeah, just give me a minute, I'll be there!" Looking back at the mirror, he tried to make himself look more presentable. As he adjusted his hair and wiped away any remaining water, he stopped to really look at himself. His face had become rounder in the last three weeks, which only added to his despair. He hated the way he looked; his reflection reminded him of a pig. In the crease where his nose met his cheek, a pimple had surfaced from the stress of his condition mixing with his sugary, fatty diet. He fought the urge to pop it, knowing that doing so would only make it worse and ruin his skin.

Pulling himself away from his reflection, he hurried to the door and opened it. When he did, he not only saw Scotty, but saw McCoy standing slightly behind him. His face contorted in anger when he saw McCoy's face. "What the hell is he doing here?!?"

Scotty put his hands up and said, "Captain, please, just let us come inside, okay?"

Glaring at McCoy, Kirk stepped aside and allowed them to come in. When they looked around, they noticed that the captain's room was messier than usual. Piles of clothing were scattered over the floor and on the furniture, filling the room with the scent of dirty laundry. McCoy's nose turned up at the sight and smell of Kirk's room; not even when he was a cadet in the academy did his room look this bad.

Scotty wasn't fazed by the room's unkempt condition; his concern was the man who allowed both his room and his body to be so ill taken care of. "Captain, we want ta talk ta ye about yer depression."

"You mean Doctor McCoy actually cares about my health?" Kirk quipped, crossing his arms.

McCoy glared at Kirk but held his tongue to Scotty's relief. If he let his anger get the better of him, it would only make things worse. "Aye, he does," Scotty explained. "That's why we're both here. Ah know yer upset about Spock, but ye can't keep goin' on like this. Yer not takin' care of yerself an' yer not as attentive ta yer job as captain as ye need ta be."

"Well it's nice that you're speaking for everyone Scotty, but if Doctor McCoy is concerned about me, I'd rather hear it from his mouth."

Both Kirk and Scotty turned to look at the doctor, who didn't like that the spotlight had been shined on him. He rolled his eyes and said, "Jim, you're a mess. You haven't had a decent meal in three weeks. The weight you've gained isn't healthy! I can't believe you've let yourself go like this!"

"Well Bones, what do you expect from someone who's got his head up his ass?" Kirk snarked.

McCoy turned to Scotty and said, "You see what I mean? This is _exactly _what I expected from him!"

"I'm glad I meet your expectations!"

"Alright!" Scotty said, putting himself between the two. "That's enough! What's wrong with ye two? Ye two are best friends! Ye shouldn't be actin' this way! Now look, Leonard, ye're obviously worried about tha Captain, so why don' ye just tell him that? And Jim, ye just want things between ye an' tha doctor ta be like they were before, so why not tell him that?"

The two glared at each other with arms crossed, neither wanting to be the first to say anything. After watching them stand like that for a minute, Scotty sighed in frustration. "Ye two are unbelievable! Ye'd rather be sad an' miserable than swallow yer pride an' apologize ta each other like two mature adults!"

McCoy scoffed and said, "He couldn't be mature if his life depended on it…"

Kirk uncrossed his arms and jabbed a finger at McCoy, "You know, I've had just about enough of your condescending bullshit Bones…"

"Oh yeah?" McCoy said as he also uncrossed his arms and stepped closer to Kirk. "Well what are you gonna do about it Chubby?"

"_BOTH O' YE SHUT THA BLOODY HELL UP!_"

Kirk and McCoy stared at Scotty in mute surprise. They knew that Scottish men were known for their temper, but Scotty had always seemed to be a rather mellow fellow that enjoyed being happy more than anything. To see him blow up like that was alarming. They both took a step backward and kept their eyes glued to Scotty in case he snapped.

"Leonard!" Scotty roared. McCoy jumped at the sound of Scotty yelling his name. "Get out o' tha room, _now!"_

Obediently, McCoy quickly turned around and left the room. When the door had closed behind him, Scotty grabbed Kirk by the shirt and stared at him with his piercing brown eyes. "Alright, listen ta me an' listen _good _Captain. Ah respect ye an' all, but ah'm _not_ gonna have meh girl upset because ye're too busy skulkin' around tha ship feelin' sorry fer yerself! She tried apologizin' ta ye earlier an' ye blew her off. If ye weren't my superior an' we were in Scotland, ye'd get yer arse kicked fer that."

Kirk gulped at the thought of Scotty wailing on him in a full fit of anger. Even though Vulcans had three times his strength, he had no problem pitting himself against them because their demeanor was far from threatening to him. The idea of an enraged Scotsman beating him to a bloody pulp filled him with the fear of God.

"Now," Scotty continued, "Ah'm gonna call McCoy back in here, an' when he comes back in, ye're both gonna act civil an' get this whole mess settled so we can knock yer depression out an' get ye back ta normal! This ship doesn't need a wimpy captain who spends all his time cryin' because his boyfriend is gone! Ye got meh?!?"

The blond man nodded enthusiastically at Scotty, not wanting to give him any lip at all. If peace was what he wanted, peace was what he'd get. Scotty released the captain's shirt and called out, "Leonard! Ye kin come back in now!"

McCoy walked back into the room with a cautious look on his face. The rattled look on Kirk's face reflected the shouting that he heard outside of the room. Scotty whirled around to face McCoy and pointed a finger in his face. "Ah'm gonna tell ye what ah told tha captain! Ah'm not gonna tolerate any more o' yer childish shenanigans! Ye've got yer girlfriend lookin' all down because ye won't apologize ta tha Captain an' set things right an' ah won't have it! Now ah'm gonna go stand by tha door an' let ye two talk things through. Tha next one o' ya ta get outta line gets a knuckle sandwich!" Scotty shook a balled up fist to emphasize his point.

They both nodded at him and watched as he walked over to the door and faced them. He leaned against the door and crossed his arms, watching them adamantly. They turned to face each other, but averted their eyes immediately. Both now felt ashamed at their behavior and simply wanted to bury the hatchet.

McCoy cleared his throat and apologized first. "Uh, listen…I'm sorry I chose not to tell you about my date with Christine when you asked me to come to Uhura's room. I should have just told you I had plans, but I didn't think you would've even cared. I figured you'd try to guilt me into coming along anyway."

"Do you really think so little of me?" Kirk asked in earnest. No malice or sarcasm was heard from his voice; just sadness. "Bones, you know that I'm your number one cheerleader for your relationship with Christine. As much as I want to be happy, I want you to be happy too. I won't lie, I would've been sad that you couldn't spare the time to spend with me and Uhura, but I would've understood. That's part of what hurt me so bad; that you just assumed I didn't care about your own happiness.

"I'll admit I tend to be a bit selfish when it comes to my needs, and I thought being with Spock was helping with that. Apparently I was wrong. I'm sorry for assuming you could just drop everything to be by my side while I was upset. I…I really care about you Bones. You remind me so much of my brother it's not even funny. I have fun with you, but I value your feelings and opinions too, even if I don't show it. I don't ever want you to think I take you for granted."

Kirk opened his arms to show that he wanted to give McCoy a hug. McCoy smiled and pulled Kirk into a tight hug. As he held him tight, he said, "I care about you too, ya pain in the ass. I don't have a little brother, but if I did, I'd want him to be just like you." He heard Kirk laugh as he began to shake. McCoy didn't have to see his face to know he was crying. "I've been worried about you, but I've been too damned stubborn to come and see you personally. It's my fault you're as depressed as you are right now."

"No," Kirk blubbered through his tears, "it's not your fault. I'm just a dummy, that's all. I should have come to talk to you and Uhura…"

"Hush," McCoy said as he rubbed Kirk's back and stroked his hair. "Don't worry about it. We're all at fault here. Now it's time to fix things and set them right." He pulled the hypospray from his pocket and injected it into Kirk's neck. Kirk's body contracted and his sobs got a little louder as he grabbed his throat.

"I'm sorry," McCoy said, bringing his arm back around Kirk and rocking him back and forth. "I had to do it. It'll help you get back on your feet again."

Kirk continued to sob for a moment longer before his body went limp. Scotty looked at McCoy in shock and asked, "What did ye do ta him?!?"

Bending down and scooping the heavy man in his arms, McCoy said, "I mixed a sedative in with the anti-depressant. I had no way of knowing if he's been sleeping properly and I wanted to make sure he could get some rest. When he wakes up, he should be in a better mood. I'll talk to him about beginning a small string of anti-depressants to help him get back on track when he wakes up."

"Ah hope ye'll be prescribin' a healthy dosage o' quality time with his best friend as well," Scotty smirked.

Nodding and looking at the peaceful look on Kirk's tear stained face, he said, "Yes, I will. Help me get him to sick bay."


	22. Ups and Downs

**Ch 21: Ups and Downs**

Spock gathered his things together as his class filled out of the classroom in an orderly fashion. He had forgotten how enjoyable teaching was during his time on the Enterprise. It filled him with joy to teach those younger than him and took his mind off the pain of being separated from Kirk during the day, at least for a few hours.

With his materials gathered under his arm, he moved to exit the room when he saw one of his students still sitting in her seat. His eyebrow rose on his forehead when he saw that she was staring at him. He recognized the student as T'Valia, one of his brightest students in the class. Altering his path so that he walked closer to where she sat, he looked at her with a quizzical expression and said, "T'Valia, class has already been dismissed. If you linger too long, you will be tardy in your return home. It is unwise to give your guardians reason to contemplate your current location. Is something on your mind?"

T'Valia looked at Spock with the typical stoic face that many Vulcans wore, both young and old, but in her eyes was a sadness that was distinct. When he looked into her eyes, he almost felt as though he were looking into a mirror and seeing his own. In a soft voice, she said, "I do not mean to cause trouble with my presence at the end of class Professor Spock. I was merely contemplating a few things. If you wish, I can vacate the classroom at once."

She bent down to gather her things when Spock's hand stopped her. She looked back up at him with her sad eyes, surprise adding a slight shimmer to them. "You do not have to leave if you are not ready to," Spock said. "If something is concerning you, my role as a professor is not solely devoted to the education of my students. I am available to listen to your troubles if you wish to speak of them."

"They are not appropriate to share," she said, her face turning a light green. "Do not concern yourself with me Professor; I am fine."

"You are not," Spock spoke plainly. "If it is one thing I have learned after spending time with humans for as long as I have, it is how to pick up on another's emotions, even if they submerge them as we do. Bottling up your problems will not solve them. If you share them with me, the chances of them being alleviated can be greatly increased."

T'Valia sighed and looked down at her desk. She contemplated any possible consequences of telling Spock about her problems and found them to be minimal. Taking a deep breath and keeping her eyes fixated on her desk, she said, "The Vulcan High Council has chosen a life mate for me."

When Spock heard the words, he already knew what to expect. He knew that T'Valia was currently without any surviving family and thus had no one other than the Vulcan High Council to pick a mate for her. She had been assigned guardians to watch over her after her classes ended, but by Vulcan law, only blood relatives could one's life mate for them; if none were available, the High Council chose in their stead. Like Spock, she was technically old enough to choose her own mate, but with the Vulcan High Council's stress on logical Vulcan pairings and the upholding of their traditions even in light of their near extinction, they would allow no one to chose who they wished to spend the rest of their days with.

Spock kneeled next to T'Valia and nodded, recognizing her plight. She continued, "I am engaged to marry a boy I have never met whose name is Maldonev. According to the High Council, our intellects complement each other the most out of our age group. From what I am told, our pairing is a very logical choice, however…"

"You wish to be bonded with someone else," Spock interrupted. T'Valia looked in his eyes and saw the same pained look in his eyes. "There is someone else whom your heart belongs to."

She nodded silently. "You are correct," she said. "His name is Salonius. We were close as children, and like me, he lost his life mate in the destruction of Vulcan. We had hoped that we could approach the High Council to be joined together in a life bond, but they made their decision before we could. He is engaged to a girl named T'Lohra, a girl he dislikes greatly. We are both in such a hopeless situation, engaged to someone our heart does not long for, but if we were to tell the High Council of desires, we would be chastised for our selfishness."

"Indeed," Spock agreed. "I find myself in a similar situation as well. I am engaged to be married with T'Maire, a close friend from my childhood; however, my love lies with someone else."

"They are not Vulcan," T'Valia said as a statement instead of as a question.

Spock raised an eyebrow at her, but confirmed her statement. "You are correct. The person I am in love with is not a Vulcan."

"You take after your father, falling in love with a non-Vulcan," she mused with a slight smile on her face. "Interesting that even though he is on the Vulcan High Council, you are engaged to someone else against your will."

Spock's facial expression turned stony as he contemplated the details he chose not to share with his pupil. "It seems he does not want me to take after him entirely."

T'Valia sighed. "If the son of a High Council member is unable to choose his own mate, the chance of Salonius and I being allowed to do so is very low. Two thousand, nine-hundred and forty-three to one to be exact."

Rising from the floor and placing a hand on her back to reassure her, Spock spoke earnestly. "I believe that given our race's situation, preserving all of our traditions should be reconsidered. I cannot ensure you that I can make any progress through my father, but it is possible. There must be another way to repopulate our race without forcing many of its survivors to sacrifice their freedom of choice. Do not give up hope T'Valia; change may come sooner than you think."

She allowed herself to smile just enough to convey the comfort that Spock's words brought her. Gathering her things, she rose from her seat and looked up at him. "Thank you Professor Spock," she said. "Your words will help me bear being engaged to someone not of my choosing. I only hope that you are right and that I will be allowed to forge a life bond with Salonius in the future." She gave him a shallow bow and then left the room.

Spock sighed and left the room as well. Even though he had told her not to lose hope, he didn't have much himself.

* * *

"Leonard, you've gotta do something about him. I keep expecting him to see him farting sunshine and rainbows out of his ass."

McCoy raised his eyebrow at Uhura, who had come to sick bay to talk to him along with Sulu, Russell, and Scotty. Chapel stood next to McCoy behind his desk and looked down at him as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, eyes closed tightly.

"Uhura," he said, "three months ago, you and everyone else were begging me to do something about his depression, so I prescribed him a daily dose of anti-depressants, each dose being less potent than the last one. Now I've got everyone breaking my door down telling me to take him off of his cloud!"

"Have you _seen _him?" Sulu asked. "He's completely hyped up! He runs around with that damned grin on his face doing everyone else's job for them! And you can't talk to the guy for longer than a minute before becoming utterly disgusted!"

Uhura chimed in, "I swear if he calls me beautiful one more time, I'm gonna shove my earpiece up his nose!"

"I thought the point of the anti-depressant was to pull his head out of his ass so he could work, not sky rocket it straight into the clouds!" Russell added. "He's driving us all insane!"

"Ah don' even think he _sleeps _anymore!" Scotty said, exasperation clear on his face. "On multiple occasions my people have spotted him in engineering twiddlin' with things! Ah don' know how much o' this we kin take!"

"Alright, _alright!_" McCoy said, raising his hands to silence everyone. "I get the point! I'll wean him off of the anti-depressants and let his body adjust to his own chemistry!" He shook his head. "I don't get how he could be reacting so strongly to it though! I've been decreasing the potency in the correct increments! He shouldn't be reacting this way!"

Chapel fidgeted a little and then spoke up. "Er, Doctor, I believe I know what the cause is." Five pairs of eyes turned her way and looked at her, curious as to what her explanation was. Suddenly nervous, her voice dropped low as she said, "I've been noticing that some of our more potent anti-depressants have been used in the last two weeks. I've asked our staff if anyone has been administered anti-depressants other than Captain Kirk, and they've all said no."

McCoy's eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me that the captain might be sneaking into the sick bay and administering anti-depressants himself?"

She nodded, not wanting to verbally admit it. Everyone looked at each other in horrified shock and appall. That didn't sound like Kirk at all; first off, Kirk _hated _hyposprays almost as much as a child did, so imagining him administering a hypospray into himself voluntarily was unfathomable. Secondly, Kirk was not the type of person to sneak into the sick bay to abuse medication, as doing so both threatened his reputation and his position as captain of the ship.

"Nurse Chapel," McCoy said slowly and cautiously. "You do realize what you're accusing Captain Kirk of doing?"

"I do," she said solemnly. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it was true."

The silence hung heavily in the room as everyone thought about what this meant. If Kirk really was sneaking into sick bay to give himself anti-depressants, he could easily be removed from Starfleet. Starfleet had zero tolerance for substance abuse, and given the fact that they were looking for any excuse to get rid of Kirk, they'd act on this quickly.

McCoy's voice was low, but it echoed throughout the room. "We need to handle this quickly. Corporal Peters has been reporting every tiny little indiscretion on the ship. Starfleet has taken everything he reports with a grain of salt, but if word of Jim's substance abuse leaks out, even as a rumor, he'll be booted from Starfleet so fast it'll make our heads spin. We absolutely have to take care of this issue ourselves."

Everyone nodded in silent agreement. Kirk was a pain at times, but they had come to respect him as a captain. It was clear that with Spock gone he was going through a really hard time, even after almost four months. They had been as supportive as they could to help him get through it, but it was obvious that it wasn't enough.

Sighing, McCoy said, "I never thought I'd see the day that I made the wrong choice in medicating my patient."

"Don't say that," Uhura said. "Jim needed something to get out of his slump and you did what you could to help him."

"At least he stopped stuffing his face with desserts," Russell added. "It was getting to a point where every time he passed by I thought I had walked into a bakery."

"He's right," Chapel said. "Putting him on a strict diet and making him go back to the gym got him back on the right track health wise. It's just a shame he didn't feel like that was good enough to combat his depression."

McCoy stood from his seat and sighed. "Well, there's no use talking about it anymore. We need to tell him collectively that he needs to stop this. The next time he comes in for his daily dose, we'll confront him about it."

Everyone nodded and left the room. Everyone, that is, except McCoy. When he was the only one left in his office, he slumped into his chair and covered his eyes with his hand. Kirk had turned into a real mess in the time that Spock was gone, and McCoy found himself missing Spock more than he ever had before.

* * *

Prime set the table in his dining room with plates, silverware, napkins, and glasses. He found an abnormal enjoyment in preparing for dinner each night now that Spock was staying with him. After spending so long by himself, there was something extremely satisfying about having someone to spend his evenings with. The last time he had been able to have company on a daily basis was when Kirk was alive, which was so very, very long ago.

He sighed internally at the thought of his deceased life mate. Even after all this time, the void he felt in his heart remained. He could have easily chosen to bond with another, but after taking so long to admit their love for each other and then being robbed of a long life together, it seemed a disservice to the memory of his first true love to simply choose another life mate to avoid being alone. No, the fond memories of their time together would be enough.

The front door opened to reveal an exhausted Spock. When he finished teaching at the New Vulcan Academy, he went to the science lab and helped with the development of new Vulcan ships. By the time he came home the sun had long since set and the stars twinkled brightly in the sky.

"Welcome back," Prime said with a warm smile. Greeting Spock when he came home every day was like greeting the son he never had, but always wished he did. "Was your day satisfactory?"

Sighing, Spock said, "Mostly. A student approached me with a problem they are having that is weighing heavily on their mind." Acknowledging the arched eyebrow Prime gave him, he explained, "My student T'Valia is also engaged to someone she does not love. Her life mate was chosen by the High Council with no regard to her personal choice. She is old enough to know who she loves and wants to spend her life with, but the High Council made the 'logical choice' for her life mate and forced her to bond with them. It seems that the man she loves has suffered a similar fate."

Prime shook his head. "It seems that the tragic loss of our planet has made some of us realize just how restrictive our way of life truly is. Perhaps the time has come for our old ways to be re-evaluated. We are a strong people and have learned the value of controlling our emotions. However, you are a perfect example of how much pain such restrictions can cause."

"You are correct in your assessment, but how can we convince the High Council that the best thing for our race is to," he raised an eyebrow at the thought that entered his mind, "be more human?"

Prime chuckled at his younger counterpart and smiled. "The first thing to do would be to not put it in such terms. By allowing ourselves to feel, we are not necessarily becoming more human, though it can easily be construed that way. If anything, we would become more like our cousins the Romulans."

Realization dawned on him, showing clearly on his face. "The Romulans…yes of course…physiologically speaking we are exactly the same; the only difference is our beliefs. Perhaps if we were to appeal to the High Council and propose the refusing of Vulcans and Romulans into one race, we can preserve our people while keeping the bloodlines pure as the High Council desires."

Spock winced at the thought of joining with the same race that Nero was a part of, but tried to put his personal feelings aside as he contemplated the idea. "Are you sure that is a wise choice of action?"

Prime nodded and said, "As the humans say, we would be 'killing two birds with one stone'. We could still preserve our culture, allow the continuance of our race, _and _allow Vulcans such as yourself to choose their own life mate. I know it seems a radical path to take, but if the High Council continues to enforce Surak's teachings in such a restrictive way, it could lead to rebellion."

The younger Vulcan looked away and contemplated all that Prime had said. The idea was indeed a rather radical one, but if one thought about it, it was logical. Yes, the Romulans held different beliefs than the Vulcans did, but considering the intense emphasis on repopulation, the best course of action might be to reunite with their cousins. It was a long shot, but if presented properly, it was entirely possible to build the Vulcan race without sacrificing freedom of choice for those who lost their life mates in Vulcan's destruction, as well as holding on to the teachings of Surak for future generations.

"Though I do not see how we will be able to convince the High Council that this would be acceptable course of action, even if only to rebuild our race," Spock said, "I do believe that it could work out if they somehow agree to it. The question is, how do we get them to accept this and begin putting it to action?"

"Your father," Prime answered. "If you can convince your father that this is the right course to take, not only for your own benefit, but for the rest of our race as well, then he could use his position on the High Council to help fuel our cause."

The hope that had begun shining in Spock's eyes quickly faded away. He turned from Prime and stepped away. In a low voice that could barely be heard, he said, "I do not think that is possible."

"Of course it is," Prime said, walking closer to Spock. "You are his son; regardless of whether he agrees with your life choices, he knows you still speak logically."

"He will believe I speak selfishly, even if I appeal to his logic."

"Then do not speak alone."

Spock faced Prime and gave him a confused look. Prime explained, "You already have two people who are bonded to those they do not love. It is likely you can find others. Speak to T'Valia and inquire if she is the only one in her situation. In the meantime, I believe it is time you spoke to your father about your relationship with Jim."

"I cannot," Spock said, turning away once more.

"You must," Prime said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You have avoided him since your first night here. You know I have no qualms about you staying in my home; in fact, I find the company refreshing. But you will need to talk to him if you wish for this to work."

Spock was quiet for quite some time before he said, "Alright. I will talk with my father tomorrow. If you do not mind, I would like if we did not discuss the matter further tonight."

"I understand," Prime said. "Come; I was just about to serve dinner."

* * *

Kirk whistled a little tune of his own creation as he skipped down the hall toward sick bay. As usual, those who passed by him gave him a wide berth to avoid catching his attention. Lately he had a tendency to dance with anyone who came close enough to him in the hallway and most of the crew didn't really care to dance with the overly happy captain. One unfortunate ensign that was concentrating on his data pad bumped into Kirk and found himself being spun around, the captain's arm linked with his. By the time he was released, he was so dizzy that he fell against the wall and slid down to the floor.

The smile that normally warmed everyone's heart and added a bright spot to even the darkest of days was now thrown around so frequently that few were happy to see it. Some actually rolled their eyes when he directed it to them, but it didn't phase Kirk one bit. He was on Cloud Nine and nothing could send him hurtling back down to Earth.

He skipped into sick bay and aimed his sickly sweet smile at his best friend. "Bonesy!" he cried, throwing his arms open wide and hugging the doctor tightly. "Oh man, it's always a treat to see you!"

"Yes Jim, I know," McCoy sighed. He wriggled his arms between them and pushed the overbearing captain away from him. "Are you ready for your treatment?"

"You bet I am!" Kirk said, beaming.

"Good." McCoy motioned to the medical bed and said, "Can you lie down on the bed for me Jim? We're going to be doing something a little different with your treatment today."

Kirk shrugged and continued to smile. "Sure, whatever you say Bones!"

He walked over to the bed and hopped on to it, lying down obediently. McCoy found himself wishing Kirk was this obedient all the time, but knew that the only reason he was so easy to handle was because he was hopped up on anti-depressants. He grimaced as he pulled the straps from the side of the bed over Kirk's body and fastened them.

Kirk watched McCoy curiously, unsure why he was being strapped to the bed. "Hey Bones," he asked, "not that I doubt your skills as a doctor or anything, but why are you strapping me to the bed?"

McCoy fastened the final strap and turned toward his office. He shouted, "You can all come out now!"

To Kirk's amazement, Sulu, Uhura, Russell, Chapel, and Scotty all came out of McCoy's office. Each of them wore a somber look on their face, as though they were about to attend a funeral. Kirk looked at them all in confusion. "Wh-what's going on here? Why'd you all hide in the office? Were you waiting for me?" Kirk smiled. "Is this a surprise? Do you guys have a gift for me or something?"

"No Jim," McCoy said. "We need to talk to you about something very important."

"Captain," Chapel began, "we know that you've been sneaking in here when the sick bay is empty and giving yourself an extra dose of the more potent anti-depressants."

The smile on Kirk's face fell as he let his head drop back onto the pillow underneath him. "So," he sighed, "You guys noticed huh? I was hoping you wouldn't be so observant..."

"Unfortunately we weren't observant enough," Chapel said. "The anti-depressants you've been taking in addition to what Doctor McCoy's been giving you weren't meant for continuous use."

Seeing the increasingly confused look on Kirk's face, McCoy explained further. "Those anti-depressants are part of a strict treatment that starts off strong and gradually decreases in strength to wean the patient off of them. This allows their body to make up for the deficiency in the dosage on its own, so that someone who developed a sudden case of depression, such as yourself, gets back on their feet. Not even those diagnosed with clinical depression are prescribed something that strong for long.

"Using those anti-depressants for longer than a few days can cause serious strain on the body! Typical side effects include nausea, jitteriness, insomnia, and more worrisome, heart flutters, which intensify the longer you take them. The fact that you haven't keeled over after taking so much for so long is a miracle!"

Kirk laughed nervously and said, "I don't know what you're talking about! I feel fine! I don't suffer from any of those symptoms! Really, I don't!" Six looks of disbelief were directed at the captain, unnerving him. "Well….maybe my stomach's been a little off lately…and okay, I'll admit, I haven't been sleeping a _whole _lot lately…"

"Captain, there've been reports o' ye runnin' around at all hours o' tha day! Very seldomly has any one seen ye go ta yer quarters ta sleep! Ye've been bouncin' around like a jelly bean fer three months now!"

"And I'm willing to bet that as soon as we hook you up to the machine, your vitals will show high blood pressure and elevated heart rate," McCoy added.

Uhura stepped forward and went to Kirk's side. She peered down at him with sad brown eyes and asked him, "Why Jim? Why would you put your health at risk like that?"

"Why?" Kirk laughed bitterly. "Why else? The man I love is stuck on a rock light years away from me trying to validate our relationship to his father. Our engagement doesn't count for _shit _according to Vulcan laws because our life bond wasn't approved by and performed in front of the Vulcan High Council. If Spock can't convince his father in the next two months that our relationship is genuinely based in love and not lust and deceit, I'll be forced to watch the man I love leave this ship and marry someone he doesn't want to be with! I haven't heard anything from Pike about our relationship and I'm worried that I made the wrong choice in telling him about it in the first place! Spock and I could get booted out of Starfleet all because I thought doing the right thing and telling Pike about it would prevent problems! Does that answer your question why?!?"

The room was silent after Kirk's outburst. They had all known why Kirk was taking the extra anti-depressants, but it still didn't make it right. Still riding on his high, Kirk's smile returned to his face as though he hadn't just revisited the thoughts that had constantly plagued him for four months. "Well, now that we've cleared up my reasons for sneaking more anti-depressants, why don't we get me off of this bed and let me go on my merry way? I've got lots of stuff to do, being the captain and all!"

"No."

Kirk turned his head toward McCoy, who was shaking his head. "You're not going anywhere Jim," McCoy said. "Not until those anti-depressants are out of your system."

An incredulous look spread on Kirk's face. "You're kidding me, right? You're going to keep me strapped to this bed until all the anti-depressants get out of my system?" He blinked as he saw McCoy nod. Laughing, he said, "You can't be serious?!? You're actually going to make me go back to how I was before? Miserable? Focusing on the pain that I have to endure as _well _as my responsibility as a captain? Stuffing my face with pastries? Is _that_ what you want me to go back to?"

"No," Uhura said. "We want you to go back to who you really are."

"I can't _be _who I really am without Spock!" He shook his head violently. "None of you understand at all! None of you have been through what I'm going through right now! None of you have as much to lose as I do! All I had before Spock and I were together was the captaincy, and if it weren't for Nero, I wouldn't have even had that!"

"So what are we?" Russell asked angrily. "Just background noise to the wonderful life of Captain James Tiberius Kirk? Inconsequential wastes of space to pass the time until the next time you see Spock? That's just fuckin' beautiful."

Kirk glared at Russell. "I knew you wouldn't understand…"

"No, we get it," Sulu said, now also very frustrated. "Spock is the moon and the stars for you. We're just the space in between that you travel through to get to him. Without him, you don't feel like anything else matters. The entire universe could be destroyed and you wouldn't care as long as Spock was right there next to you. We all have someone we feel that way for Captain, so don't insult us by treating us like we don't."

Chapel's eyes met with McCoy's, and Scotty's with Uhura's. Though no one said anything, they were all thinking the same in silent agreement. Sulu continued, "I can't necessarily say that any of us could handle your situation any better if we were in your shoes, but I can say that going on in this way isn't going to make things any better for you."

"You're putting yourself in danger taking those anti-depressants," McCoy said. "Considering how much you've got coursing through your veins right now, it's a wonder your heart hasn't stopped all together. No one's body is equipped to handle that much! I almost scared to evaluate you and see just how much damage you've done to yourself! Your actions are irresponsible, and I seriously doubt that Spock would approve of them!"

Kirk's head dropped back onto the pillow as he closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. None of this actually seemed real. Maybe if he was lucky the last few months were just part of a horrible nightmare that was about to end. Any minute now he'd open his eyes and find himself lying in bed with Spock curled up next to him.

Unfortunately, when he re-opened his eyes, he was still in the sick bay with the same people staring at him.

"Jim, we're gonna go," Uhura said. "Hopefully the next time we see you, we'll actually see _you_, and not this doped up version of you."

"Wait!" Kirk attempted to lift himself off of the bed but was once again held down by the restraints. All but Chapel and McCoy were making their way out of the sick bay. "You can't just leave me here! Who's going to do my job?"

McCoy put a hand on Kirk's chest in an effort to calm him down. "It's all under control Jim. Scotty will take over until you've recovered. You need to rest."

"_NO!_" Kirk screamed. He looked desperately at the retreating figures, only catching the sad eyes of Uhura before she left too. "I need to be running the ship! I need to be on the bridge! Please, don't make me stay here!"

McCoy nodded to Chapel, who grabbed a hypospray from the counter near the bed and injected it into Kirk's neck. He babbled for a while longer before his body went limp and his eyes closed. McCoy sighed and slumped into the stool that sat next to the bed.

Chapel looked at the forlorn doctor and asked, "Are you sure this is wise? Cutting him completely off the anti-depressants will send him into withdrawal. Anything he's gone through before now will seem like nothing in comparison to what he'll go through once the anti-depressants leave his system."

"I know," McCoy said sadly, reaching out a hand to stroke Kirk's hair. "It's the only way though. We tried doing things by the book by weaning him off of the anti-depressants and look where that got us. No, if we want Kirk to stay alive, he has to quit cold turkey."

"But he's bound to suffer terribly from the withdrawals! With as much anti-depressants as he has in his system right now, it's likely he'll have suicidal thoughts!"

"That's why we're strapping him to the bed. If he's tied down he can't hurt anyone, including himself." McCoy took Kirk's hand in both of his and held it tight. The balmy feeling of his skin made him cringe as he contemplated what was going on internally. "I'll stay by his side the entire time. I may not be Spock, but having his best friend by his side in his darkest hour should be enough to help him get through this."

Chapel walked behind Leonard and wrapped her arms around him, leaning against his back. "I really hope so, Leonard."

McCoy nodded and said, "So do I."


	23. Darkest Before the Dawn

**Ch 22: Darkest Before the Dawn**

Going to see his father on his day off wasn't ideal, but there really was no way around it. Spock was in a very tough position and the only way out of it was to talk to Sarek. After all, the entire point of being stuck on New Vulcan for six months was so that he could reason with his father and show him that his relationship with Kirk was more than the unfortunate scene he had witnessed. He had expected his father to confront him on the matter himself after the way he acted when they last talked, but Spock had seen neither head nor tail of him in the last four months. It didn't help that Spock refused to stay with his father and went straight home when he was done for the day. With as much time that had passed, it was likely that most of the tension between them would be gone and conversing about the subject would be as simple as discussing theories of interstellar travel.

Even with all this in mind, Spock still sat on his bed, struggling to gather the courage to leave Prime's home and visit his father.

He had woken up early that morning and prepared for the day as he would any other day, but when the time actually came for him to leave his room, he found himself rooted to the spot. Fear froze his legs and prevented him from moving forward. The most movement he was able to get from his legs was the few steps he took to return to his bed and sit down.

A heavy sigh rushed out from his lungs as his eyes bored down into the floor beneath him. Why was talking with his father always so hard? Why couldn't he talk with him as easily as he used to talk to his mother? Not even after he nearly choked Kirk to death on the bridge was he able to speak openly without fear. Was it because his father was a Vulcan or was it because he was so afraid of letting him down?

Spock forced himself to stand up after sitting in his room for half an hour. He couldn't let his fear get the better of him. There was no way he'd be able to convince his father that his relationship with Kirk was just as valid as the one he shared with his mother if he remained in room cowering. Breathing deeply and placing one foot in front of the other, Spock exited his room, walked out of Prime's home, and made his way to Sarek's house.

When he reached Sarek's door, he found himself standing in place staring at the door just as he had four months ago. This time however, he stood alone. Prime was not by his side to help raise his confidence or to help soften the blow. No, this was something he had to do without assistance on his own.

He knocked on the door soundly and loudly, hoping that his father had not already left his home for the day. To his mutual relief and horror, the stoic face of his father appeared from behind the door that opened before him. The face remained emotionless save for his eyes, which conveyed a mix of emotions.

In an even voice, Sarek spoke. "Spock. It is surprising to see you at my home this early in the day. Is not today your scheduled day of rest?"

"It is," Spock said in an equally even voice. "I would like to discuss the matter of my relationship with Captain Kirk with you. That is, of course, if you have the time."

Sarek nodded. "I do indeed have the time. Come in."

Spock walked inside Sarek's home and waited for Sarek to close the door behind him. The two Vulcans faced each other and briefly stood in silence, one assessing the other. Sarek spoke first, "It has been four months since last we spoke. Are things going well?"

"Aside from being apart from my life mate against my will," Spock said, "yes, things are going well."

Raising an eyebrow, Sarek said, "I apologize that I have disrupted your sexual activities, but I felt it necessary for there to be distance between you and Captain Kirk."

Spock's face hardened. Things were already going poorly with the conversation. He was already somewhat emotionally volatile for the lack of contact with Kirk he had suffered the last three months. For reasons beyond his comprehension, Kirk had not responded to any of their nightly communications. Every time he reached out to Kirk, he was either doing something around the ship or was already asleep. It was possible Spock just didn't know what was going on and thus had no explanation for Kirk's sudden unresponsiveness, but it was still peculiar that Kirk hadn't even notified him of anything that was happening.

Keeping his face emotionless save his fiery eyes, Spock responded, "I had thought that in four months time you would no longer be reacting to what happened in Prime's living room."

Coolly, Sarek said, "Prime is still not allowed to enter my house without knocking; what makes you think I would so easily forget what I saw?"

Spock turned from his father, the anger that boiled in the pit of his stomach becoming harder to contain as they spoke. "Four months Spock," Sarek continued. "Four months with absolutely no contact from you. How did you propose you would change my opinion without speaking to me? We Vulcans may be telepathic, but some things still require verbal clarification."

"I did not wish to see you," Spock said through gritted teeth.

"Whether you desired to see me or not is not in question," Sarek said. "Your relationship with Captain Kirk is. For one who needs to validate his relationship to his father, your actions have not done well to back your argument up."

Spock's hands balled up into tight fists as he continued to fight the anger that was swiftly rising inside of him. Not even five minutes had gone by and already he felt a need to evacuate the premises to avoid acting on his emotions. He couldn't do it. There was still far too much anger and resentment between them for them to speak civilly. He turned on his heel and walked past his father. The door was inches away from him when his father's words stopped him in place.

"It seems that you are unable to come up with a convincing enough falsehood to change my judgment of your so called 'relationship' with Captain Kirk. I almost regret that I will be deprived of your feeble effort to persuade me to support your fornications with your superior officer. For your sake I hope the captain is better at telling tall tales to Starfleet."

Slowly Spock turned around and faced Sarek, the full fury that he had bottled inside bursting from within him onto his face. If Sarek hadn't known any better, he would've thought he was looking straight in to the face of the Devil himself. Spock took one step closer to his father, then another, then another, and then another. With each step, he spoke, "I will _NOT. _Have you. Insult me. And Captain Kirk. Any further."

Sarek countered the deadly look on Spock's face with one of his own. He too took a step forward and said, "Then explain yourself. And do choose your words carefully, as I will be scrutinizing each and every one that passes your lips."

* * *

It was hot. Way too hot. If it weren't for the straps that held him down on the medical bed, Kirk would have thought that he was sitting in a sauna. Though his eyes were closed he did not sleep. Sweat poured from his body and soaked into his uniform. He wanted to move, he wanted to stretch his tense muscles and run as far from sick bay as he could, but he was bound to the bed against his will.

**_That damnable doctor_**_, _said a voice in his head. The voice was so dark and menacing he was barely able to recognize it as his own. **_What the hell does he know about what I need? Strapping me to the bed like this…what gives him the right?_**

_It's for your own good, _came another voice, this one sounding much more like him but much calmer. _You're not well. You need to rest and purge yourself of the poison in your blood._

**It's not poison!**Yet another voice spoke, this one more frantic and nervous sounding. **It's medicine! It makes us feel good! It makes the pain go away! It's all we have now; it's the only thing that makes us happy! Spock's gone, long gone. He's never coming back. We've lost him forever. All is lost…**

_That's not true. Spock is coming back in another two months. That's why you have to get better now. You can't let him see you like this…_

Bitter laughter rang in Kirk's ears. **_He already knows! We're bound by a life bond! His pain is my pain and vice versa! He knows the horrible mess that I'm in and he wants nothing of it! That's why he hasn't spoken to me in so long…_**

_He hasn't spoken to you because you're not yourself! You're right in saying that he knows exactly what you're going through right now, but you're wrong in thinking he's abandoning you! He's bound by his word to his father!_

**It's all over…what else do we have to live for? He was everything…now we have nothing… **The frantic voice sobbed. **It's hopeless…we should just end it all now and be done with the pain!**

_Stop it! This isn't like you! You don't just give up because things get a little rough! That's not the James Tiberius Kirk that everyone knows and loves!_

**No one loves us…the only person who loved us was Spock, and he's gone now. There's no one and nothing left…**

**_Screw him! I don't need him! I'm fine by myself! I've always been alone, I'll always be alone, and I'm going to die alone! That's just how it is! He was just a passenger riding along with me as I shuffled along through this miserable existence I'm supposed to call my life. He hopped off as soon as he got the chance and is living his own life now…just like everyone else…_**

**He's left us…just like everyone else…**

The voice of reason was beginning to lose its calm, soothing tone. _He's not like everyone else! He's the one you've always wanted in your life! The one person that loves you for who you are, quirks and all!_

**_Please…don't make me laugh. I'm sure his father's convincing him that I'm a horrible choice as a life mate as we speak. He probably wishes he never broke things off with Uhura…that or he's thinking seriously about marrying T'Maire. At least his engagement to her is actually recognized…_**

_Don't say that! He needs you!_

**_He doesn't need me…I need him._**

**We need him…we need him here. He needs to be here with us! Oh God, why isn't he here?!?**

**_Spock…_**

**Spock…**

McCoy held Kirk's hand tightly as he struggled against his restraints. He had been talking in his sleep for the last half hour and now he was simply chanting Spock's name over and over again. Chapel watched on in mute sadness as she saw McCoy do all he could to try and reassure Kirk. McCoy stroked Kirk's wet hair off of his sweaty forehead and shushed him like a mother would her child.

"It's okay Jim; you're going to get through this. You've reached the hardest part, just hang in there…"

Eyes clenched and his face contorted in a pained expression, Kirk continued to say Spock's name over and over.

"Spock….Spock……Spock……."

* * *

_Spock….Spock……Spock……._

The pained sound of Kirk chanting Spock name as though it were a mantra reverberated inside of Spock's skull. He didn't realize it but he had fallen down to his knees and was clutching his head. He was wracked with so much agony and anguish that he thought he would be torn apart. What little self-awareness he had left told him that the pain he felt wasn't his; it was Kirk's.

Sarek stared at him in quiet shock, unsure of whether he should reach down and touch his son or give him a moment to recollect himself. His paternal instinct kicked in and forced him down to his knees. He reached out and grabbed Spock's shoulders, giving him a gentle shake.

"Spock!" he said. He was amazed at how small and frightened his voice sounded as he said his son's name. Moments ago their eyes were locked in a fierce staring match; now it was like none of that had happened. "Spock, can you hear me?"

Through the piercing pain and the sound of Kirk's voice, he was able to hear his father calling to him. Using more effort than he was used to, he forced himself to focus on the world around him and ignore his beloved's pain through their link. His eyes squinted at his father, whose eyes were wide with concern. He had never seen his father look so afraid in his life; when he looked into his eyes, he could see the fear of losing the last of his family.

Taking a few deep breaths before trying to talk, Spock rasped, "Yes, I hear you father."

"What is wrong?" Sarek's voice now quivered as he spoke. "Are you hurt?"

Spock shook his head. "No, I am not hurt…but Jim is."

Sarek's eyes widened when he heard his son refer to Kirk in such an informal way. Despite their life bond, Spock always referred to him as 'Captain Kirk'. Using Kirk's first name so casually meant that something horribly wrong was happening to him. "What has become of Captain Kirk?"

"I…I do not know for certain…" Spock said. He winced as the pain flowed into him despite his efforts to block it out. "He is in a great deal of pain…it is flowing into me through our link. I am trying to block it out, but I cannot. He is trying to reach out to me…" Gathering his strength, he stood on his feet. Wobbling in place he said, "I must go to him…"

"You will do no such thing!" Sarek said as he stood. He held Spock to keep him from falling. "You have no idea what could be wrong! For all you know, he has been captured and is being tortured! You will stay here! Contact the Enterprise if you need to, but you will _not _leave New Vulcan, especially not in your state!"

Smoldering eyes glared at Sarek. For a moment he faltered under his son's intense gaze, but he remained firm. Spock reached out a hand and rasped, "Feel his pain…through me…"

Sarek allowed Spock to place his hand on his face and initiate a mind meld. In an instant, white hot pain wracked his body. It took everything he had to keep himself from falling down to the floor and taking Spock with him. His knees buckled but he remained standing. The sound of Spock's voice being repeated over and over by Kirk echoed in his ears. With Spock now reaching out to Kirk to determine the cause of his pain, Sarek was able to see that the pain was rooted in their separation. Kirk's heart called out to Spock because he could not bear to be apart from him. In all Sarek's years of life and the many mind melds he had performed, not a single being he had ever encountered experienced despair and pain such as this simply from being separated from their one true love.

The meld was broken just before Sarek collapsed down to the floor along with Spock. His hands shook as he placed one on his head and the other on his heart. The pain he suffered from losing Amanda was nothing compared to this. He didn't know how the seemingly invincible Captain James T. Kirk was rendered so defenseless to such suffering; As if hearing his father's thoughts, Spock was quick to answer his question.

"I am his first true love," Spock said, gasping. "I am the only one for whom he lowers all his defenses for. We have been together every day since we first confessed our love for each other. Only once did I spend longer than a day apart from him, and that was to falsify the life bond with T'Maire. When I decided to stay on New Vulcan as suddenly as I did, he was left as vulnerable as a man in a frozen wasteland with no clothing to protect him from the cold."

Spock smirked cruelly at his father, who was still staring at him in disbelief. "Captain Kirk may seem like nothing in the world could harm him, but that is only because I have always been by his side. He was able to tap into that strength before he met me, but it was only after we joined together as one that he was able to truly reach his full potential. When I am with him, he feels as though he could take on the entire universe all by himself. Now that I am gone, he is drowning in a deep pit of sorrow. All of his insecurities are tormenting him, and have been since the day I left his side. If you do not let me go back and renew his self-confidence, I do not see how he can last longer than a few days."

It was incredible. Not only was Kirk grieving for a mate that still lived as if they had been tragically killed, but his own pain seemed as though it were slowly yet effectively killing him as well. After hearing, seeing, and feeling what he had, there was no way Sarek could ignore his son's request. Yet and still, six months was what was promised, and six months he would remain on the planet.

"Spock," Sarek said softly. His sharp edge from earlier was all but gone now. "I have felt the bond that you and Kirk share and I am now beginning to understand your relationship with him, but six months have yet to pass. Only today have you spoken to me in four months time. There is still so much I do not know…"

"Three days," Spock said, now desperate. He didn't have the luxury of time to sit and explain things to his father now. The longer he delayed, the less likely Kirk would be able to recover. "Give me three days and your fastest ship. I will go back to the Enterprise, help Captain Kirk recover, and then come back to finish the duration of my six months here. But if you do not let me go, you condemn Captain Kirk to a slow and painful death."

Spock's eyes narrowed and his voice lowered to a rumble. "If you force me to stay here and allow that to happen, I swear on my mother's soul that I will sever all familial ties with you and _never _speak to you again."

Spock's resolve was clear. Sarek no longer needed validation for their relationship; it was plain to see that theirs was a true love. Knowing that, he could never let his son's life mate die. Swallowing his pride, Sarek nodded and said, "Go. Hurry."

Giving his father a short look of adoration and thanks, Spock nodded and rushed to his feet. His head swam for a moment and he had to put a hand on the wall to steady himself. When he had regained his bearings, he rushed out of Sarek's bedroom. Sarek said a silent prayer that his son made it to Kirk's side in time, and then began berating himself for ever doubting their relationship.

"Amanda," he said out loud. "I have been such a fool…"

* * *

McCoy was beginning to look like a wilted flower as he clung on to Kirk's hand. Kirk was in horrible shape; his heartbeat was completely erratic, his blood pressure through the roof, and he was on the brink of hyperventilation. Reluctantly, he rose from his seat and grabbed a hypospray filled with a stabilizer. He injected the hypospray into Kirk's neck and relaxed as the readings on the screen above the bed came closer to the green levels. Sadly, they still remained high.

The anti-depressants were now completely out of his system, but that wasn't the problem. The problem now was the three months of dependence that Kirk had built up in his body. He had expected a violent reaction, but nothing like this. As morbid a thought as it was, McCoy couldn't help but wonder if his best friend would even last the night.

A warm hand touched him on the shoulder and made him jump. He turned to see Chapel standing behind him, staring back at him with a concerned look on her face. "Leonard," she whispered, "you've been watching him for ten straight hours. If you're going to be of any use to him, you'll need to rest."

McCoy shook his head. "No. I'm not leaving his side until the worst is over."

"Leonard, you need rest! If you push yourself too hard, what am I going to do without you? What is the _ship _going to do without you? And what about the Captain? You can't help him if you're incapacitated too!"

McCoy took Chapel's hand and kissed it gently. Smiling, he said, "I'll be fine Christine, really!"

Chapel shook her head and protested, "No, I'm not going to let you go without sleep to keep an eye on him! Let me help, please! Go to your quarters and sleep, even if only for a couple of hours, and let me watch over him!"

Sighing, McCoy looked down briefly then remade eye contact with Chapel. Her bright blue eyes sparkled beautifully with worry. He gave her a half-smile and said, "Alright, tell you what. I'll go take an hour nap in my quarters and leave you in charge while I'm gone."

"Only an hour?" Chapel protested, still not pleased with McCoy's intentions.

"Yes, only an hour," McCoy replied. "That's all I'll need to keep myself going until Jim pulls out of this. That means I won't be gone long enough for something to go wrong and I'll get sleep like you want me to. Now if that's not good enough for you then I'll scrap the whole idea and just stay where I am."

She bit her lip and said, "Oh alright. Go take an hour nap…"

McCoy bent down and kissed Chapel on the forehead, giving her a smile he reserved only for her. "Thanks Christine. I'll be back in an hour."

Chapel watched as McCoy walked out of the sick bay and sighed. She was glad he reserved his Southern charm for her alone; if he was more open with it, she was absolutely sure that she'd have to beat the girls off of him with a stick. She walked over to the chair McCoy had spent ten hours sitting in and held Kirk's hand. Her eyes widened at the heat that emanated from his hand and body; the temperature on the monitor above the bed read 101.9 degrees Fahrenheit. She looked at Kirk with an increasingly worried look. Kirk needed to break that fever or he risked serious damage to his body.

To her surprise, Kirk's eyes opened and stared at her. He had spent most of the time he had been strapped to the bed unconscious and babbling, but it seemed that the sedative that McCoy had given him earlier was finally wearing off. His irises were dilated so much that there was barely any blue to be seen in his eyes.

Kirk smiled wearily at Chapel when his bleary, sleep filled eyes focused on her face. "Christine," he rasped. "I'm so glad to see you…Bones isn't here is he?"

Chapel shook her head and said, "No, I made him go to his quarters. He's been by your side for ten hours straight now. If it were up to him, he'd probably fall asleep in this very chair keeping an eye on you."

Smiling, Kirk said, "Bones is a good guy…and you're a good girl for him…" His smile turned into a grin as he saw her blush at his compliment. "Hey Christine…listen…I know McCoy's not keen on the idea, but since he's not here, do you think you could give me a small dosage of anti-depressants? Not one of the potent ones I was using before, just one of the weaker ones. I'm feeling more like myself now, but I just need something small to pick me back up. I promise, no more sneaking in and giving myself the strong stuff, you have my word as captain."

Eyes wide, Chapel shook her head. "I'm really sorry Captain, but I can't do that. The moment McCoy came back in here and found anti-depressants in your system, he'd know exactly who to blame."

"Aww, it'll be fine," Kirk reassured her. "It'd just be a small dose so it'd be okay. Then my body would go back to its normal behavior and you can send me off on my merry way! Besides, he'd commend you for using your best judgment while he was gone!"

Chapel shook her head again, this time more violently. "I'm sorry but I can't. I really can't."

"Christine," Kirk begged, "please. I'm in a lot of pain right now. All I can think about is the fact that Spock isn't here with me. I can't function like this! I have no way of knowing how much of this I can handle! Please Christine…just a little bit more and I promise that'll be it. Just give me a little bit more to get me through the night. Please?"

The pain in his voice pulled at Chapel's heart. As if in a trance, she rose from her seat and said, "Alright…just one more…no more after that, but I'll give you one more dose…" She turned from Kirk's bed and walked over to the cabinet where the hyposprays were kept. She found one with the weakest anti-depressant there was and made her way back to Kirk's bed.

A few steps away from the bed, the sick bay door opened up to reveal McCoy. The smile he had on his face quickly disappeared when he saw the hypospray in Chapel's hand and recognized it as an anti-depressant hypospray.

"_Christine!_"

Chapel whirled around with wide eyes and tried to hide the hypospray behind her back. She tried to smile, but in her nervousness it looked more like a grimace. "Leonard!" she exclaimed. "I thought you were going to take a nap? You barely just left a few minutes ago!"

McCoy's eyes narrowed. "I was going to tell you that you should give Jim another sedative to help him sleep, but it seems you had other plans."

"Wh-what are you talking about?!?" Chapel laughed nervously. "I was just about to give him a sedative!"

He marched over to Chapel and snatched the hypospray from behind her back. He held it firmly in his hand and shook it in front of her face. "Do you think I'm an idiot? I know an anti-depressant hypospray when I see one! I'm not the ship's chief medical officer for nothing you know, so don't insult my intelligence!"

Chapel winced at the harsh tone that McCoy gave her. Since the shore leave he had been gentler with the way he talked to her when they were on duty; this was the first time in a while that she heard him berate her.

"I _told_ you he needs to go cold turkey! He just got the last of what was in his system out! It'd be stupid to put more back in! What were you thinking?"

"Bones!" Kirk's voice caught McCoy off guard. He expected him to still be sleeping, but it looked like the sedative had worn off. Kirk begged, "Please Bones don't be mad at her! She's just trying to help that's all! Tell you what; since it's already out, why not just give me the dose, huh? It doesn't have to be a big one, hell it doesn't even have to be a full one! You can just inject like half of it in me and that'd be fine!"

"No!" McCoy took the hypospray and put it back in the cabinet where it belonged before facing Kirk. "You're quitting that stuff cold turkey and that's that! I'll have no more talks of 'one more dose', you hear me?"

"Dammit Bones, just give me the damned hypospray!" Kirk screamed. "I need another dose! Come on, please, just give it to me!"

Furious, McCoy whirled around and pulled out a hypospray. Kirk didn't know it by sight, but Chapel and McCoy both knew it was their most potent sedative. McCoy walked over to Kirk's side as Kirk said, "Oh my God, thank you! Thank you thank you thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me," McCoy said angrily. "This isn't an anti-depressant. It's our strongest sedative. So help me you will sleep through these withdrawal symptoms if it's the last thing I do."

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _

Filled with what seemed like inhuman strength, Kirk's body bucked on the bed and struggled against the restraints. He moved his body so violently that the bed actually started rocking from side to side. McCoy was now gladder than ever that the medical beds were bolted to the floor. Kirk had reached the peak of his withdrawal and if it weren't for the restraints, he wouldn't even think of approaching him.

As McCoy slowly made his way over to Kirk from the cabinet, Kirk snarled at him. "NO! You keep that shit away from me! Don't you put anymore of that sedative shit in me! I want an anti-depressant dammit! I'm the captain of this fucking ship! I _order _you to give me an anti-depressant this instant!"

McCoy shouted to Chapel, "Christine, hold him down! I can't inject him with this if he's flopping around like a fish!"

Chapel attempted to hold Kirk down but was barely able to make a difference. Above the bed, Kirk's vitals were spiking. He screamed, "_NOOO! GET AWAY FROM ME!!! SPOCK! SPOOOOOOCK!"_

The door to sick bay swooshed open to reveal Spock clad in a dark gray Vulcan suit. His chest heaved from his sprint down the hall from the transporter room. He gasped, "I am here…"

Chapel and McCoy froze in place when they saw Spock standing in the doorway. Kirk instantly stopped screaming and rocking on the bed when he heard Spock's voice and saw his face. Miraculously, his vitals began to drop closer to the green levels. A smile spread on his face as he said, "Spock…it's you, right? It…it really is you…right?"

Spock walked across the room toward his restrained fiancé. Chapel moved out of his way and allowed him to stand next to Kirk. The two men's faces mirrored wide grins as Spock nodded and said, "Yes Jim, it really is me. I am right here with you."

McCoy took the opportunity to inject the hypospray into Kirk's neck. Kirk was so focused on Spock's face that he didn't even notice it. The only think Kirk focused on was the smiling face of the man he was so worried that he wouldn't see again. The world around him began fading to darkness around Spock's face. As his eyelids closed, he said, "You're here…I'm so…glad…you're……here…"

The sound of Spock's voice was the last thing he heard before he fell into a deep sleep:

"You know I will always be here when you need me most…"


	24. Dark Clouds and Silver Linings

**Ch 23: Silver Linings**

For hours on end there was nothing but darkness. Kirk saw nothing and felt nothing. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought that he had died in his sleep. As consciousness slowly returned to him, the voices began conversing amongst themselves once again.

**He's come back…he's come back! Did you see? Did you **_**see?!?**_** He's come back to us! He didn't leave us after all!**

_Of course he came back. He loves you. He heard you crying out to him and came as quickly as he could. That is the power of your love. Light years away from you and he still heard your voice and felt your pain._

_**It's a lie… **_Ever the pessimist, the darker voice denied the truth. _**He's not really here…it was all a dream. That's right…it had to be. There's no way he would drop everything and rush to my side just like that. No way at all…**_

**A dream? No…it can't be…we saw him. We felt his presence. He has to be here, he just has to be! **

_He _is _here._

_**No he's **_**not!**_** I'm just seeing things! I'm delusional from the withdrawal! **_

_No! He really _is_ here! Quit trying to deny it and feel around you!_

A familiar comforting presence surrounded Kirk like a warm blanket. When he focused on the presence, he recognized it as Spock's. His body was still bound to the bed, but he felt Spock's hand holding on to his. Spock's love and worry flowed through their touch like water from a faucet. There was no mistaking it. Spock really had returned to him.

Kirk felt himself rising out of his subconscious and opened his eyes to look at the world around him. Just as he expected, Spock sat in a chair to his left, his sad brown eyes looking down at him. Though he had expected to see him, the relief that filled him from seeing his face still brought tears to his eyes. He wanted to say a million different things, but in the end, he could only manage to say one thing before his eyes overflowed.

"Spock…"

Kirk wanted to reach up and hug Spock, but the straps prevented him from moving at all. Knowing that Kirk wasn't going to harm himself now that he was with him, Spock unfastened the straps and quickly flung them off of his body. After the last strap had been undone, Kirk threw himself at Spock and wailed like a newborn child. Spock's shoulder quickly grew damp from the tears that spilled from Kirk's eyes at an alarming rate. They held each other so tightly that there would likely be bruises on their bodies. The sorrow that had been eating Spock alive for four months poured out of his eyes as he too began to cry.

"I am sorry," Spock blubbered. "I am so very sorry. I never should have left your side. I let my father intimidate me…"

"I don't care about that right now," Kirk sobbed. "I'm just glad you're back. I'm so glad you're back."

"If I had known the pain you were suffering, I would have come back sooner. You must think me an unfeeling monster…"

"No, no. I don't. You're so beautiful. Oh God, how I've missed you…"

Kirk pulled back and took Spock's face in his hands. He took a moment to drink in the beauty of Spock's creamy pale skin and presses his lips against his. He wanted to overload his senses with everything that was Spock. He breathed Spock's scent in deeply and relished the sweet taste and feel of his mouth as he kissed him.

Spock allowed himself to let out a moan as he felt himself drowning in all that was Kirk. It surprised him how being deprived of physical contact with his life mate for a mere four months had such a large effect on him. He hadn't realized it, but his soul had been aching for the last four months. There was a void in his life that nothing seemed to fill while they were apart. The sun itself seemed to shine less brightly without Kirk. The body he had inhabited since they parted had been a mere shell; he felt whole again now that he was back where he belonged.

Their kiss was broken only because neither could breathe. They gasped in unison with their foreheads pressed against each other, their eyes closed. When their tears stopped flowing, they found themselves laughing. Technically there was nothing to laugh about, but both were so happy to finally be with each other that the laughter spilled out as uncontrollably as their tears had.

Behind the door of his office, McCoy stood silently with his back to the door as he heard the two men share an emotional moment as they were reunited. A bitter smile made the corners of his mouth curl upwards. A stabbing pain swirled in the center of his chest. He thought to himself, _I guess even after all I've said and done, the pain still hasn't gone away... _The laugh that escaped his lips was harsh and short. _I guess some wounds _never _fully heal…_

McCoy collected himself and left his office to speak with them. The touching scene before him both warmed his heart and made it ache. _Damn it all…I shouldn't still feel this way! _He cleared his throat, causing the two men who hadn't noticed his presence to jump and pull apart.

He couldn't believe how much better Kirk looked now that Spock was back. The sparkle in his eyes had already returned and his skin had its usual glow. The only remnants of the last four months of agony were the dark circles around his eyes. McCoy couldn't help but resent the immediate effect Spock had on Kirk, no matter how beneficial it was. Not once in the last four months was McCoy able to get even a glimmer of Kirk's old self to resurface when all Spock had to do was show his face to make Kirk do a complete one-eighty.

_I guess there's no cure for a lonely heart other than that which makes it feel complete…_

"Well Jim," McCoy said, trying to keep his voice as smooth and calm as he could despite the conflicting feelings he felt inside of him, "it seems that you've recovered beautifully. I'm glad to see that the day you spent sedated helped to ease your withdrawal symptoms, though I'm sure Spock's presence had a greater effect on that than anything I did."

"Bones…" Kirk said, hearing the pain in McCoy's voice despite his best efforts to hide it.

McCoy continued, not wanting to hear anything Kirk had to say on the matter. "Since Spock has deemed your restraints no longer necessary, I'm clearing you for duty. If you wish, you can leave sick bay and do whatever you want."

Kirk looked at Spock briefly then returned his attention to McCoy's face. McCoy said nothing further, but hoped and prayed that Kirk would stop looking at him. In his current state, he wasn't sure if he would be able to maintain his composure. He had a new respect for Vulcans, who could easily suppress emotions like his without even really trying. Relief washed over him as he saw Kirk nod at him and leave the sick bay.

Spock had risen from his seat and was going to follow him when McCoy stopped him. He reached out with his arm and prevented Spock from moving any further. "Spock," he said, his tone deadly serious. "I'd like you to stay behind for a moment. I need to talk to you."

Raising an eyebrow, Spock turned to McCoy and said, "What do you wish to discuss Doctor McCoy? I request that you keep the discussion short, as I only have another two days before I must return to New Vulcan."

"You're going _back?_" McCoy asked. His composure quickly melted away when he heard that Spock hadn't intended to return to duty aboard the Enterprise. His eyes narrowed as he said, "What was the point of coming back if you were just going to leave again? Do you have any idea what Kirk went through during the last four months?"

Spock looked down and said, "I only have a small idea of what he has gone through. He reached me through our link while he was in the sick bay. I had wondered why he had suddenly stopped responding to me when I tried contacting him through our link at night…"

McCoy's fist clenched and unclenched as he resisted the urge to punch Spock in the face. "You have no idea…you only saw a _glimpse _of the misery he's been through… You burst in here and show your face to him and after all that we've done to try and keep him sane, all it takes is one look into your eyes to bring him back to normal. One look at your face and all the pain and suffering he went through is completely forgotten and forgiven. Well I can't forgive you so easily!"

Spock's eyes were wide as he saw McCoy erupt with anger. Out of all the people he expected to be upset with him for being gone, McCoy wasn't one of the people he had counted on. McCoy grabbed him roughly by his shirt and glared at him with his piercing blue eyes. Too long. He had held in his contempt for the green-blooded Vulcan for too long. It was time that he let it all out.

"You have no idea how much trouble you cause for him! You've been a thorn in my side for _months_, but I've held my tongue for Jim's sake! Well I've remained quiet for long enough! Jim would've been much better off if he never fell in love with you! I know he doesn't think that anything that he's put up with until now has been unacceptable, but it makes me _sick _to think that someone like you is the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with!"

Spock's surprised eyes turned hard and cold. He grabbed the hand that McCoy held on to his shirt with and applied just enough force to cause him pain. McCoy didn't give Spock the pleasure of seeing him wince though. He clenched his jaw and continued to glare angrily at the Vulcan.

"You tell me that I know nothing of the pain that Jim has been through, but you know _nothing _of the bond we share, nor do you _want _to. You would much rather focus on any suffering Jim goes through that is related to our relationship so that you can use it against me instead of seeing how happy I make him!"

"Big words coming from someone that didn't get to watch a part of Jim _die _while he was gone!" Spock flinched from the words; McCoy saw the crack in his armor and began hacking at it verbally. "That's right Spock, Jim _shut down_ after you left. He stopped taking care of himself and was barely able to function as captain! I gave him anti-depressants to try and get him through the time you'd be gone, only to have him become addicted to them and sneak in to sick bay to give himself more!

"All you saw of his suffering was the climax; I was there for the entire buildup! And then you have the _nerve, _the absolute _nerve, _to come in here and tell me I don't know anything about what you two share? I know enough to know what being apart from you did to him! And after all that he went through, you plan to make him go through it all over again? For how long? How long will he have to suffer this time, huh?"

"I made an agreement with my father!" Spock shouted. "I agreed to stay with him for six months in order to preserve Jim's career! Our life bond is not recognized by the Vulcan High Council! If I chose to go against my father's request, he would have made sure that Jim and I would be separated permanently and could _never _get married! The agony he went through in the last four months would be _nothing _compared to what he would suffer if I allowed that to happen!"

"I say the whole problem is that he chose to be with you in the first place!"

"Why? Because he should have chose you instead of me?"

"YES!"

There. Now it was out in the open. Spock had known it and McCoy had thought it, even expressed it to Kirk. But now Spock heard the words clearly from McCoy's own mouth.

Spock shook his head. His voice full of contempt, he said, "Your selfishness is astounding for one that claims to have Jim's best interests in mind."

"I _do _have Jim's best interests in mind," McCoy said. "Why else would I believe he would be better off with me than with you?"

"What about Christine?" Spock asked. "Is she merely there to keep your mind off of Jim then? Or are you simply incapable of putting your feelings behind you?"

"My relationship with Christine is none of your business!"

"It is when all the effort you should be putting into it is being diverted to my fiancé!"

The two men glared at each other. McCoy released Spock's shirt and snatched his hand out of his grip. In a low rumble, he said, "If you leave Jim alone on this ship and he has to go through all that all over again, I can't hold myself accountable for what I do in your absence."

"Then I do not hold myself accountable for what I will do to you when I return."

Spock turned and walked toward the door. To his and McCoy's mutual surprise, Chapel was standing in the door, face frozen in an expression of shock and wet with tears. Her eyes went back and forth between Spock and McCoy before running down the hall.

McCoy rushed to the door and pushed Spock out of his way. "_Christine!_" he cried. When he saw her disappear down the hall without turning back to him, he cursed and pounded the wall. He glared up at Spock who simply raised an eyebrow at him and walked out of the sick bay, leaving McCoy to mourn yet another relationship that he had screwed up.

* * *

All eyes were on Kirk when he walked onto the bridge. It was clear that no one really knew what to make of his presence. Knowing that they had every right to be leery of him after the way he behaved for the last four months, he silently went to his seat on the bridge and sat down. Without saying a word to anyone on the bridge, he pressed a button on the arm of his chair and spoke into the intercom. His voice resounded throughout the entire ship as he made his announcement:

_This is Captain Kirk speaking. I would like to formally apologize to the entire ship for my behavior during the last four months. I…I was not myself. However, I can assure you that I will not allow myself to derail as drastically as I did again. You deserve better from a captain, and I will ensure that I strive to be the captain you all need and deserve. I hope that you all will forgive me._

He thumbed the intercom off and sighed heavily, aiming sad eyes at those on the bridge with him. They all looked at him sadly, knowing what the cause had been for his peculiar behavior. An engineering ensign spoke for everyone on the bridge and likely the ship:

"We understand, Captain. We know how much Commander Spock means to you. I'm sure if any of us were in your position, we would've been devastated as well. Seeing you like that reminds us that you're only human, just like the rest of us."

"I know there's a lot of pressure on you to be your best," a science officer sitting in Spock's usual seat said, "but don't think you should carry your burdens all alone sir. A ship's crew may only be as good as their captain, but the captain can only be his best if his crew supports him at all times. I don't know if everyone aboard feels this way, but when you feel your resolve weakening for any reason, don't hesitate to turn to us for help."

The nods of all members on the bridge coupled with the random words of reassurance from those around him were too much for Kirk in his already emotional state. The anti-depressants were already out of his system and he was no longer suffering from withdrawal symptoms, but he was still rather fragile. He had to clench his jaws and blink rapidly to keep himself from crying in front of his crew members, who had nothing but respect and adoration for him.

With misty eyes, he simply smiled and said quietly, "Thank you all. I appreciate your support."

The touching moment was interrupted by the sound of Lieutenant Melendez swirling in her chair and saying, "Captain, I have a transmission coming in from Starfleet Command. Admiral Pike wants to speak to you in private."

Kirk's eyes grew wide. Normally when Pike called in, Kirk was the one to redirect it to his room. To have Pike request it immediately meant either he simply wanted to talk without prying ears around, or that he had bad news. He rose from his chair and said, "Patch him through to my quarters."

"Yes sir," Melendez said, as she pressed the right buttons on her console to do so.

Kirk entered the elevator and took a moment to look at the crew members on the bridge. Some had returned to their posts and were working as diligently as before, but some were still looking at him. He smiled and gave them all a nod, receiving smiles and nods in return. As the elevator descended, he found himself prouder than ever to be a captain of the Enterprise.

* * *

Spock sat in his room meditating when he suddenly heard T'Maire's voice in his head. _Spock? Spock, can you hear me?_

His eyes flew open in surprise. T'Maire was contacting him? But why now? They had been in contact periodically since he had left the Enterprise, but something in her voice told him that her contacting him was in regards to something important. Spock reached out to T'Maire's mind and answered: _Yes T'Maire. I can hear you. What is the matter? Has something happened?_

The normally musical tone of T'Maire voice that he was used to wasn't present when she spoke. _Yes_, she said in an uncharacteristically angry tone, _something has indeed happened._ _The council is refusing to strike our life bond from the record._

Spock's eyes doubled in size. _What?_ _On what grounds?_

T'Maire quoted T'Pau's declaration in an overly pompous sounding voice. _'The life bond between T'Maire and Spock cannot be terminated by anyone other than Sarek, as he was entrusted with the choosing of Spock's life mate. Unless he deems it necessary, the life bond and engagement of T'Maire and Spock will remain intact.'_ She scoffed bitterly. _They're determined to treat us like children who don't know any better._

Spock's eyes narrowed. This was unacceptable. The Vulcan High Council was going too far; they were now forcing the entire Vulcan race to conform to a way of life that was overly oppressive and restrictive considering their situation. When they said they would do all they could to preserve their culture, Spock never expected they would become dictator-like in nature. This had gone far enough.

_T'Maire,_ _we are not the only ones that are suffering from the High Council's constrictive ways. It has come to my attention that there are others who are in unfavorable engagements because the High Council believes we are not capable of making logical choices on our own. _

Through their link, Spock could sense T'Maire nodding in agreement. _I'm not surprised. It seems they think that with our race being in its dire state, everyone will choose mates of other races without their supervision. They're so anxious to rebuild our population they're not even thinking clearly themselves, yet they treat us like _we _are the ones who are compromised!_

_Indeed, _Spock agreed. _I am currently back on the Enterprise, but I plan to return to New Vulcan in two days time; when I do, I will do what I can to get the waves of change to flow. I will keep you posted on my progress._

_Wait a minute…you're back on the Enterprise? But why? Has something happened?_

Spock remained silent for a brief moment before answering her. _Yes…Jim had a breakdown in my absence. I returned to the Enterprise to ensure his recovery._

T'Maire gasped audibly. _Is he alright?_

_Yes, he is now. He was in rather bad shape before I returned though. His pain reached me through our mind link and I beseeched my father to allow me to go._

_He didn't give you any trouble, did he?_

Spock smirked. _He did, but I managed to persuade him to see things my way._

T'Maire caught Spock's meaning without him having to delve too far into detail about it. She laughed in response and said, _You always _were_ rather convincing in your arguments…_

_Indeed. My father seems to think so as well._

_Well, I won't trouble you any further on the matter then. It seems you have your own battles to fight, and you're in a better position to fight them than I am. Let me know if they're anything I can do on my end to help._

_I will, _he said, smiling through their link. _Take care T'Maire._

_You too, Spock._

He felt T'Maire presence leave him and sighed heavily. He uncrossed his legs and rubbed his face with his hands. It seemed that just as things began to get better, things immediately found a way to get worse. He rose from his place on the floor and walked out of his room. Kirk was likely either on the bridge or in his room; right now, Spock needed to be near him.

* * *

"What can I do for you Admiral Pike?"

Pike smiled and said, "At ease Jim; this is a private channel. We can speak freely."

Kirk relaxed. "Ah, right, okay. So, what's up Chris?" Kirk couldn't help but grimace a bit at the overly informal use of Pike's first name. He may have requested it personally, but that didn't mean that he felt comfortable using it. Or at least he wasn't comfortable yet anyway.

Pike laughed lightly at Kirk's grimace. "I have good news for you and Spock! I know it took a while to get back to you about this, but you know how things are with Starfleet. Command has reviewed the nature of your relationship and they've just given word that they approve of it. Congratulations Jim. You and Spock now have Starfleet's official blessing."

Kirk grinned and laughed loudly. He felt as if a gigantic weight had been lifted off of his chest. One of their biggest obstacles had just been removed. Starfleet was okay with his engagement to Spock. He continued to laugh as his heart swelled with happiness.

"Chris, you have just given me the best news I've heard in four months! You have _no _idea how much better that makes me feel!"

Smirking, Pike said, "I can imagine. Glad I was able to add a silver lining to your dark clouds. Well, I can't linger, I just wanted to let you know that things will start getting a little easier for you and Spock now."

"Thanks," Kirk said, still beaming. "I was in serious need of some good news. I'll be sure to pass the word on to Spock. Take care, Chris."

"You too Jim."

When the transmission ended, Kirk leaned back in his chair and spun around, his arms high above his head as he cheered. Now no matter what happened with Spock's dad, they were guaranteed to keep their positions in Starfleet. Even if they spent the rest of their exploration mission fighting to have their marriage recognized by the Vulcan High Council, as least their jobs couldn't be threatened ever again.

As his chair stopped spinning, a knock came at Kirk's door. "Jim?" Spock voice came from the other side. "Are you in your room?"

Kirk jumped out of his chair and opened the door. He grinned when he saw Spock's face and pulled him into the room. When the door closed behind them, he grabbed Spock by the shoulders and said, "Spock! Starfleet approves of our relationship! We don't have to worry about losing our jobs!"

Spock's face lit up at the good news. "Really?" he said, barely able to contain his excitement. Kirk nodded enthusiastically and basked Spock in a genuinely happy smile. Allowing himself to mirror the smile on Kirk's face, Spock asked, "When did you find out?"

"Just now!" he said. "Admiral Pike sent me a transmission and told me!"

Enraptured at their triumph, Kirk and Spock hugged each other tightly and laughed happily. For a moment, Spock almost forgot about the news he had just heard from T'Maire. Kirk pulled back and looked at Spock with a look of sheer delight. "So, did you have something you needed to tell me?"

Spock faltered briefly, but shook his head and smiled at Kirk. "I did, but it can wait. Let us revel in the euphoria of the moment."

Kirk smiled back at Spock and nodded. "Yeah," he said, giving Spock another tight hug. "Let's do that."


	25. Confrontation

**IIIIII...LIIIIIVE......AGAAAAAAAIN!!! That's right folks, I'm back in business! Quick note: it's come to my attention that reboot!McCoy actually has **_**hazel**_** eyes, not blue. From henceforth, his eyes will be described as such. When I can, I'll go back and correct past references to his blue eyes.  
Anyway, on with the show!**

**Ch 24: Confrontation**

Uhura sighed at the four girls that sat in her room. They were still in their uniforms, but each had their own pint of ice cream. Chapel had gone to Rand crying about what she heard McCoy say to Spock. Rand then called Valerie to her room and explained the situation, who then called _Eliza _to do the same. Eliza then suggested they all go to Uhura's room and talk about it together over ice cream. Uhura was glad that they all knew that the best way to feel better about guy issues was to turn to her, but having all of them in her room at once was a bit much.

"I just can't believe he's still pining away for the captain!" Chapel blubbered over her chocolate brownie ice cream. "When he asked me out on that date back on shore leave, I thought that he was finally putting it behind him for good!"

Mulling over her chocolate vanilla swirled ice cream, Valerie said, "I don't know why you're so surprised. If you spend as long as Doctor McCoy did pining over someone that you don't stand a chance with, only to lose him to someone you don't think is worthy of him, it's really hard to get over it. Hell, I'm still trying to get over one guy I had a crush on for several years, and I'm engaged!"

"All men are pigs," Eliza said as she shoved another spoonful of chocolate mint ice cream into her mouth. "They couldn't be loyal to anyone or anything if their life depended on it."

Rand glared at Eliza over her chocolate strawberry ice cream. "You're one to talk Eliza. Last I heard you couldn't pick whether you wanted to be with Sulu or Chekov. How can you of all people preach about the inevitable infidelity of men when you're sleeping with two guys who are best friends?"

Eliza shot a glare back at Rand and said, "At least I _have _someone to complain about Janice."

"_Alright,_" Uhura cut off the two off before things could escalate. "As nice as it is to complain about our own relationships, we're here to talk about _Christine's _relationship."

"What relationship?" Chapel sulked. "How can you call what we have a relationship? We haven't spent _any _time together outside of duty in the last four months! Every time I suggested doing something he blew me off!" She dropped her voice down an octave and wrinkled her face in a frown. "'Sorry Christine, I'm just not in the mood to do anything tonight.' 'Sorry Christine, I'm busy.' 'Sorry Christine, I gotta check up on Jim.'"

The four girls stared at her in awe. "You know," Valerie said, "you do a scarily accurate impression of Doctor McCoy…"

"Yeah," Rand nodded. "Either you've spent _way _too much time around him, or you've got a knack for impressions."

Chapel gave a sad smirk. "It might be a bit of both really."

Eliza grinned like a Cheshire cat and said, "Ooh! Do one of Spock! I wanna see how good an impression you can do of him!"

The giggles and cheers of her friends encouraged her to try it. Laughing, she raised her hands and said, "Okay, okay! I'll do one of Spock!" She took a moment to calm down and closed her eyes. Taking a few deep breaths, she focused on relaxing her face completely and then opened her eyes. With a dead pan expression on her face, she said, "'Doctor McCoy, I find it highly illogical that you continue to 'pine away' for my fiancé even though he rejected months ago. Surely by now you know that Jim prefers my hot Vulcan loving over your Southern charm!"

Chapel lost it before she could finish her impression. Her laughter mixed with that of her friends at the amusingly absurd statement done in Spock's voice. Sides were gripped, lungs wheezed and gasped for air, and tears formed at the corners of the five girl's eyes as they laughed and laughed. Chapel gasped and said, "Oh my God, I'm sorry! I couldn't do it!"

"No, that was perfect!" Uhura said between laughs. "I could totally picture Spock saying that with a straight face!"

The girls continued to laugh for a while longer before eventually calming down. They returned to their ice cream, which had started melting while they laughed. Chapel sighed and said, "But seriously, what should I do? Should I just give up?"

"Well," Valerie said, being the closest of the group to marriage, "what you gotta do is ask yourself 'Is he worth fighting for?' Sure, Captain Kirk has no romantic interest in him, but it's gonna take a long time for McCoy to be completely over him. Would you rather keep waiting for him to move on? Or would you rather count your losses and look for love elsewhere?"

Chapel sighed again and shook her head. "I don't know…I just don't know right now. I really do want to be with him, but if he can't put the Captain behind him, I'd just be wasting my time…"

The four girls looked at Chapel sadly. She was usually happy and full of life; seeing her so depressed and sad was akin to a cloudy day when the weather was always sunny. Each of them tried to think of something encouraging that they could say; something that could blow the clouds away at least a little bit to let a few rays of sunshine back in. At that point in time though, anything that could be said would sound hollow. They all knew that hollow words of hope were as good as nothing at all.

"Listen," Chapel said as she placed the lid of her ice cream back onto the carton, "I really appreciate you guys trying to cheer me up, but I think I just need some time alone to think to be honest."

She rose from her place on the floor and handed the half full carton of rocky road to Uhura. Smiling weakly, she said, "Thanks for the ice cream. I, uh, I'll see you all later, okay?"

The four girls watched in silence as Chapel left the room quietly. The room remained devoid of sound for what felt like hours after she left. Breaking the silence, Eliza spoke up. "We can't just let things stay like this. How could we call ourselves her friends if we did?"

Uhura nodded in agreement. "You're right. It's obvious Leonard still has his head shoved way too far up his ass to pull it out on his own."

With a devious smirk, Valerie added, "And who better to help him remove it than us?"

* * *

McCoy walked down the hall with a sour look on his face. Uhura's request to talk to him couldn't have come at a worse time. After having Christine overhear that he still had feelings for Kirk and getting in Spock's face over it, he was not in the mood to do anything besides sit in his office with the door locked and down one of his bottles of Sirian brandy. He couldn't even turn to Kirk in his time of need, as doing so would mean letting him know that he _still _wasn't over him.

To have the truth bite McCoy so viciously in the butt proved to be a rude awakening, especially after spending months trying to ignore his feelings. For the first time in his life, he finally understood some of the pain that Spock forced himself to go through on a daily basis. It may not have been a cultural upbringing that motivated him to burying his true feelings deep within him, but it was still very difficult and very painful for him. The best course of action was to move on and pursue a relationship with Chapel, but for whatever reason, his heart seemed adamant about rejecting the logical course of action.

It wasn't that he didn't care for Chapel; that was far from the case. In reality, he felt himself falling more and more in love with her on a daily basis, but there was something about Kirk that he just couldn't let go. There was a deep connection between the two of them that spoke to him in ways no other relationship had. Maybe his failed marriage with his ex-wife prevented him from opening up fully to another woman. Maybe there was a safety in the feelings he had for Kirk that was more inviting and less scary than the potential feelings he could have for Chapel. Whatever the reason, it caused far more trouble than he really needed.

The sight before him after he entered the conference room was not one he expected. Sitting in the chairs with very irritated looks on their faces were Rand, Uhura, Eliza, and Valerie. If he hadn't been familiar with these tactics, he would have been very confused by the presence of the four girls. He was no stranger to Chapel's personal life and knew that the four girls before him were her good friends. And like most good friends, they were defending Chapel's honor.

"Well," McCoy said, "I see the gang's all here."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Eliza blurted. "How can you keep stringing Christine along like this? Do you take some sick pleasure in breaking her heart?"

"Well I…"

"Kirk rejected you _months _ago," Uhura interrupted. "Chapel knew it too. She even agreed to give you time to come to terms with your feelings and move on. _You _were the one to ask her out on that date during shore leave, and this is how you thank her?"

McCoy frowned and approached the table. "Hey don't give me that bullshit. In case you forgot, the only reason I asked her out is because Scotty made it seem like it was the only way he could go out on a date with you! By the way, thanks for lying about that. It's because you two manipulated me that I'm even in this mess to begin with!"

"Don't blame this on me!" Uhura shouted. A perfectly manicured finger tapped the table in front of her. "When that date ended, you could've done whatever you wanted! You could have told her you still weren't ready or that you just weren't interested in her! You didn't have to keep stringing her along just to pacify her!"

"I enjoyed her company! Does it surprise you that I began to open up a little bit to her? Is it so weird that I decided to take a chance and test the waters? I really do have an interest in Christine!"

Valerie glared at McCoy. "Then why would you bring your feelings for Captain Kirk back up to Mr. Spock?"

McCoy's head snapped in the direction of the young communications officer. He growled, "Do you have any idea what I've gone through the last four months? Have you not _seen _the state that the captain has been in? Hell, you're all friends so I would have figured at the very least you would've gossiped about _that_!"

"That doesn't answer my question!" Valerie leaned forward in her chair and repeated herself. "If you're so interested in Christine, whywould you bring your feelings for Captain Kirk back up to Mr. Spock?!?"

"_Because I resent their relationship!_"

The room was so quiet that if a pin dropped it would have echoed in their ears. McCoy's jaw was clenched tightly as the onslaught of emotions overflowed from deep within him. After shouting his last words, McCoy dropped his voice back down to an acceptable volume.

"I was everything to Jim before Spock showed up. When he needed someone to talk to, I was there. When needed someone to vent his frustrations on, I was there. When he was homesick and needed a shoulder to lean on, _I _was there. I was the first one to love him for his insecurities, for his strengths, for his weaknesses. I was the first one to love him despite his womanizing ways and his overbearing self-confidence! _Me, _not him! And yet and still, after being there for him through thick and thin, I get shoved off like none of that ever mattered!"

"Did it ever occur to you for one moment that the love you felt for Kirk wasn't necessarily _romantic _love?" Uhura asked. "Take it from someone who knows, just because you've seen every side of someone doesn't mean you're entitled to be the one they fall in love with! There's much more to love than that!"

Valerie spoke with less emotion, but with wisdom that extended beyond her young age. "Love isn't selfish or jealous. At the end of the day, it's not really your thoughts and feelings that are the most important; it's theirs. True love isn't about getting what you want and making yourself happy; that's just a beautiful side effect of giving yourself fully to someone. Your role in the relationship is to be the loving, supporting cheerleader that's always by their side. You're there when things are boring. You're there when things are good. You're there when things are bad. Your one driving force from the moment you wake up in the morning is putting a smile on their face. Anything less than that isn't really love."

McCoy stared at Valerie briefly before turning away and said, "You're talking to someone who was married once. You don't think I don't know that?"

"No," Valerie said, "I just think you forgot it."

Silence. Rand, who had been quiet up until now, looked at McCoy and said, "Doctor, your inability to put your feelings for Captain Kirk to rest is going to make you miss out on a great relationship with Christine. If you screw this up, you'll lose something precious beyond measure. This isn't about whether you love Christine or not, as weird as that sounds. This is about treating her like an adult. If you really aren't ready for more than just a friendship with her then just tell her. You're only going to push her further away if you don't."

McCoy looked down at the floor and let their words sink in. To their surprise, he had no more words to defend himself with. Nodding, he simply said, "You're right. Regardless of my feelings, I'm not being fair to Christine at all. I…" He sighed and dropped his voice down low. "I'll talk to Christine and tell her how I feel."

Uhura rose from her chair and went to McCoy's side. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring look. "I can't tell you that Christine will wait for you forever, but I know if you just go and talk to her, she'll be willing to wait for a while. Just…just get your shit together before she gives up completely, okay?"

"I'll try," McCoy said with a sad smile. "God knows I'll try."

* * *

The stars twinkled silently in the space outside of the observation deck. Ever so slowly they passed by as the Enterprise sailed toward their next destination. Only the dull roar of the engines could be heard on the normally occupied observation deck, as most of the crew was either asleep or tending to their duties.

McCoy couldn't have felt lonelier if he tried.

Whether it was his situation as a whole that got him down or the total solitude he found himself in when he arrived was beyond him. All he knew was that in that moment, he felt like the only man in the entire universe. He knew that he had no one but himself to blame for the way he felt. It was made clear months ago that he was never meant to be with Kirk and that Kirk just simply didn't return his feelings. Meanwhile, Chapel anxiously awaited the chance to be more than just his nurse. Everything was laid out for him; he simply needed to reach out and take what was his.

So why couldn't he do it?

He sighed as he thought long and hard about it. In the end, the answer he needed was obvious; his last wife did a bigger number on him than he expected. True, she took him for everything she could before he left for the academy, but the cherry on top of the shitpile that was their divorce was the finalization of the custody battle for his young daughter Joanna. Barely four years old was she when he left everything behind to join Starfleet. In his absence, his mother beat it into her head that he was a low-down scoundrel who never loved her. When he visited her before the five year mission started, the smiling little girl that he once knew was gone. In her place was a scowling seven-year-old who couldn't stand to look at him.

His melancholy thoughts were interrupted by the muffled sound of heels on carpet behind him. When he turned, he saw Chapel standing in the middle of the observation deck, a mild look of surprise on her face. The surprise turned into a reflection of her inner conflict as she debated whether she should turn around and run out or speak to him. The sad look in his eyes was what convinced her to stay.

"Christine…" was all McCoy could manage to say. Seeing her face only added to his own internal conflict. He wanted to smile and forget his troubles when he looked at her, but seeing her face only reminded him of the tumultuous pain he kept buried beneath the surface. Rather, the pain he _tried _to keep buried. Whether he realized it or not, he was currently wearing his heart on his sleeve for all to see.

Chapel's mouth opened as if to say something, but nothing seemed to want to come out. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say, she just didn't know what she _should _say. Her first thought was to begin bitching a blue streak about how she deserved better and shouldn't even try to have a relationship with him. Technically, she'd be within her right to do so. Something about the atmosphere made it seem like that was a bad idea though.

Her courage began to wane the longer she looked at him. Even from afar, his eyes swirled with a pain she wasn't sure she could deal with at the time. She had her own thoughts to sort out, which was why she had come to the observation deck in the first place. There was nothing more soothing and thought provoking like staring out at the stars and the space between them that they traveled through.

If she had known she'd bump into the very man she needed to think about, she would have just stayed in her room.

Realizing that Christine neither had anything she was willing to talk about nor the courage to just turn around and leave like she never saw him, McCoy lowered his head and began to walk past her. The instant he passed her, an electric vibe charged the air between them and snapped Chapel out of her internal debate. She turned to face him as he came closer and closer to the walking out the door she herself had just walked through.

She couldn't explain it, but somehow she felt that if she allowed McCoy to walk out that door, the Leonard she had been privileged to learn about would be forever closed off to her. The man she loved would forever and always be nothing more than Doctor McCoy if she allowed him to leave without saying a word. Despite the pounding of her heart, she managed to cry out to McCoy and stop him in his tracks.

"Leonard!"

Two feet away from the door, McCoy stood in place. The natural reaction to being called by his first name would be to turn and face the one who called it. Nothing about his situation seemed natural though, so he remained facing the door. Teeth dug into his lip as he struggled to control his heart rate, which by now was well over 100 beats per minute.

Taking a shaky breath, he turned to face Chapel once more. Chapel was relieved that she kept him there with her, but now that he was still there with her, she didn't know what to say. Then it occurred to her that she was thinking about what to say far too much. What she needed to do was let her heart speak for her instead of her mind.

Eyes moist, she spoke with a submerged sob, "Am I not good enough for you?"

McCoy closed his eyes in an effort to maintain his composure. Opening them again, he stared at Chapel and said, "I don't think _I'm _good enough for _you. _You deserve better than me. Someone who isn't as damaged, someone without all the emotional baggage I carry around with me."

"Why won't you just tell me what it is that bothers you?" Chapel pleaded. "If you've got so much to carry, why not share the burden with me?"

"Because it wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to do that."

"What if I'm volunteering to do it?"

"_I won't do it!_"

McCoy's voice echoed through the empty observation deck. They both froze in place and looked at each other without speaking. Lowering his voice, McCoy continued, "You want to know why I go around scowling so much? Why it's so hard for me to smile and open myself up to other people? Because the last person I opened up to ruined my life to the point where I had to run to space just to get some semblance of peace."

He laughed bitterly. "A man with aviophobia turning to outer space for peace! Have you ever heard something so ridiculous? A man would have to go through hell and back to spend the rest of his life flying on a star ship when the very thought terrifies him. And what do you know? That's exactly what happened to me.

"I told you I was married before I joined Starfleet, but I didn't tell you that I had a child."

As expected, Chapel looked at him with surprise. "Yeah, that's right; grumpy ass McCoy is the father of an eight, almost nine-year-old girl named Joanna. It's a shame that as far as she's concerned she doesn't _have _a father though. That mother of hers made damn sure that by the time I finished the Academy that little girl had nothing but hatred for me. She filled her up with lies, saying that I abandoned her and that I never loved her, when that couldn't have been further from the truth. When a woman does that to you, how the hell can you expect a man to trust another?"

A heavy sigh escaped his lungs, making his shoulders sag. "That's why I fell in love with Jim…or at least _thought _I was in love. I dunno…I don't even think what I felt was really love anymore. I think I was just reaching out to someone, _anyone_ that seemed like they gave a damn. It honestly could have been anyone that I would've become attached to in my state.

"After I met him on the shuttle I just couldn't get rid of him. He was like a tick; nothing I could do or say could get him to stay away. It was annoying as hell at first, but after a while, the fact that I could have someone by my side at all times was comforting. Here was someone who was always happy to see me, always eager to start the day with me by his side…it had been a long time since I had someone like that. Even with his flitting from one woman to another, in the end, he always came back to _me. _I…I liked that feeling.

"I lost that when Spock came along. Sure, Jim still came to me and gushed about their relationship or asked for advice or just joked around, but it wasn't the same. At least it didn't _feel _the same. He was in love, completely, hopelessly in love. Part of me envied him, and the other part of me envied Spock. I'd give _anything_ to have even just some of what they have, to be that important to someone…"

"You could be," Chapel spoke. Her voice was almost a croak from remaining silent for so long. She dared to close the space between them and stood before McCoy. Her soft hands were placed on his face as she looked deep into his hazel eyes.

With a small smile, she said, "If you gave me the chance to really get to know you and stopped trying to block me out, you could be that important to me." She laughed and said, "Who am I kidding? You already _are _that important to me. I can't see why I'd let myself go through this insanity if you weren't."

McCoy's voice caught in his throat as he managed to say her name. "Christine…"

"Leonard," she cut him off, "I'm not asking to replace the Captain's place in your heart; I don't think I ever could, even if I wanted to. I'm just asking you to let me love you and find a place in your heart for me too. I want you to quit fighting so hard to block me out and…and just…"

His lips on hers gave her the response she both wanted and needed. Their kiss was filled with many different emotions: want, desire, sadness, hurt, longing, confusion. It was a desperate kiss on both sides as one sought what they were missing in the other. There was an equal amount of emotional give and take from both McCoy and Chapel as they stood all alone in the observation deck, the universe slowly moving around them.

When the kiss slowly ended, they pulled apart just barely enough to look at each other through half-closed eyes. The only sound that could be heard other than the roar of the engines was the sound of their breathing. Chapel's hands had slid down McCoy's face and were now cradling his neck gently. McCoy gave a half-smile and said, "If you're really willing to deal with someone as crotchety and damaged as me, then I guess I can't stop you, can I?"

"You can," Chapel said, returning his smile, "but do you really want to?"

McCoy leaned back in and kissed her tenderly on the lips. With a chuckle, he said, "No, I guess I don't."


	26. The Best Laid Plans

**Ch 25: The Best Laid Plans**

"Dammit Bones, I don't need someone to baby sit me!"

There was only one day left before Spock returned to New Vulcan and McCoy was getting nervous. After what Kirk went through in the four months that Spock was away, he was unsure if Kirk could remain stable for the next two months. The news that Starfleet had approved of their relationship would give Kirk less to stress about, but there were still the Vulcan side of things that had yet to be sorted out. Also, even though the fact that Sarek allowed Spock to see Kirk was a good sign, it didn't mean that Sarek was no longer a problem.

"In case you've forgotten Jim, you drove damn near half the ship crazy while Spock was gone! I'm _still _catching up on the sleep I lost when you were going through withdrawals! I can't take the risk of you pulling that crap again when he leaves!"

"That was _before_ Starfleet gave their approval! I'll be okay this time, I really will!"

"I don't believe you," McCoy said, narrowing his eyes.

Kirk put one hand on his hip and jabbed the index finger of the other into McCoy's chest. "I don't _care _if you believe me or not! I'm the captain, so if I say I don't need someone hovering over me at all times of the day to make sure that I don't go bat shit crazy again then that's the end of it!"

McCoy crossed his arms. "You may be captain, but _I'm _the chief medical officer! My job is to make sure that every single person aboard this ship, be they crew member or guest, are in the best of health. Which means that if I deem it necessary that you be under supervision to ensure you eat right and are in good mental health, my orders are absolute and can't be overridden, not even by the captain!"

Kirk growled at his best friend who glared back at him. The two were locked in a staring match of silly proportions. Chapel watched helplessly from afar, afraid to open her mouth. The air around them was charged as one immovable force met with another immovable force.

"I will _not_ have someone attend to me and that's that!" Turning on his heel, Kirk stormed out of the sick bay and nearly barreled into Spock as he walked by. He was so intent on leaving that he didn't even notice the surprised Vulcan.

Spock exchanged an awkward look between Chapel and McCoy before entering the sick bay. With his back straight and his arms clasped behind him, he addressed Chapel. "Nurse Chapel, if you could give the doctor and me a moment alone, I have something I need to discuss with him."

"Forget it Spock," McCoy said. "Whatever needs to be discussed will be discussed in front of her."

An eyebrow rose on Spock's forehead. "I do not believe that it would be appropriate to hold our conversation in her presence."

"Look, I already know where this is going, and I'm telling you, it doesn't matter! Say whatever you need to say right now; Christine will stay right where she is."

Spock allowed himself to show his irritation on his face. At times like this, the doctor could be quite incorrigible. "Very well," he said, "we will discuss things openly. I believe that the Captain should have a yeoman assigned to him."

Smirking, McCoy said, "I agree."

McCoy enjoyed throwing Spock for a loop. The look on his face was priceless and never got old. "You agree?" Spock asked.

"Yes Spock, I do," McCoy said smugly. "I believe that part of Jim's problem was that he has been undergoing far too much stress as a captain and would do better to have an assistant, especially one he wasn't romantically involved with. A yeoman would ensure that not only is he getting his work done without being overly stressed, but also that he is taking proper care of himself. That should prevent a repeat of his recent breakdown."

Spock nodded slowly at the doctor and gave him a slight smile. "I admire your train of thought Doctor."

McCoy was beside himself with glee that he was one step ahead of the Vulcan. "Well, I'm glad to hear that!"

"However," Spock added, much to McCoy's dismay, "while your reasoning for assigning a yeoman to the Captain's side is quite logical, it was not the same as _my_ reasoning."

It was McCoy's turn to have an eyebrow raise on his forehead. "Okay…then what was _your _reasoning Mr. Spock?"

A smug smile curled on Spock's lips as he said, "To ensure you do not attempt to seduce him."

The shock on McCoy's face was enough to make Chapel laugh. Her laughter was abruptly reduced to a clearing of her throat when he shot an angry glare at her. He faced Spock and crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"I'll have you know that he won't need a yeoman for _that_ reason Spock," McCoy said, unable to hide the contempt in his voice. "I've taken the time since our last discussion to think things over and to be very honest, Jim is much better off with you than he is with me. He needs someone young like you to keep up with him. Just watching him wears me out, and I don't have nearly as much patience as you Vulcans do, so you can have him."

He gave Spock a cheeky smile as he walked over to Chapel and put an arm around her. "Besides," he added, "I have a lovely lady that is willing to put up with me, so I shouldn't bother with forbidden fruit when I have a lovely Georgia peach!"

If Spock were a full-blooded human, he would've rolled his eyes at the utter cheesiness of McCoy's line. It didn't seem to faze Chapel though, who was blushing and smiling coyly.

"If that's the case," Spock said, "then the only reason the Captain would need a yeoman would be as you described. A yeoman would indeed relieve some of the pressure that Jim suffers on a daily basis, and will prevent another breakdown in my absence. I commend you on your foresight Doctor."

"Ah, don't thank me," McCoy said, idly waving Spock's comment away. "If you're going to thank someone, thank Christine. It was her idea. She even has a suggestion for who should take the job!"

"My friend Yeoman Rand would be an excellent choice for the Captain," Chapel said. She spoke confidently despite her nervousness. She didn't talk much with Spock and always worried she would sound like an idiot the moment she opened her mouth. It didn't help that she had a crush on Spock during the first part of their mission, a crush that was quickly overshadowed when word that he was dating Kirk leaked out.

"Ah, yes, Yeoman Rand," Spock mused. "I've noticed her. She's a very diligent worker. I believe she will indeed be an excellent choice as the captain's personal assistance." He gave a slight bow of his head in Chapel's direction. "You have my thanks."

Blushing again, Chapel said quietly, "You're welcome."

McCoy gave Chapel a look, but decided to ignore her behavior for the moment. Turning his attention back to Spock, he said, "I'll uh, I'll speak to Rand personally and inform her of the decision. I can't think of any reason she'd have to object the position."

"Nor can I," Spock agreed. "The hard part will be getting the captain to agree to it."

McCoy smirked darkly. "He doesn't have a choice."

* * *

A knock came at the door of McCoy's office. He peered over his data pad and called out, "Come in!"

In walked Rand, clutching on to her data pad as she usually did when she was on duty. She gave McCoy a curious look and said, "Christine told me you wanted to see me…"

"Yes, I did," McCoy stated. He put his data pad down and clasped his hands in front of him on the desk. He looked up at the yeoman and said, "I'm assigning you to be the captain's personal assistant."

Rand's eyes grew wide. "The captain's personal assistant? But why?"

"Are you asking why you've been selected or are you asking why he needs an assistant?"

She blinked at the question. "Both."

McCoy gave Rand a small smile. "I'm sure you're aware that for the last few months Captain Kirk hasn't really been acting like himself." Rand grimaced and gave him a tiny nod. "Well, aside from Spock being apart from him and the two of them having some unresolved issues with their relationship, the captain has been pretty stressed out trying to take care of everything on his own. As a result, he had somewhat of a nervous breakdown. We are assigning him a yeoman to help alleviate his daily stress load and help enforce healthy habits for him. As for why you were selected…well, let's just say that someone put in a good word for you."

Rand took a deep breath and released it slowly. She remained silent for a time then said, "That's a mighty big responsibility to place on me of all people. Surely they're someone else that's better suited for something like this other than me?"

"If I really wanted to, I could pour over the list of yeomen on the ship and drive myself crazy agonizing over who could put up with the captain. I could do that, or I could trust my source and assign you to the job. Personally, I'd rather trust in my source than spend potentially hours trying to pick the right candidate myself.

"Now, as chief medical officer, I'm assigning you to be Captain Kirk's personal assistant. Will you accept the job? You're _technically_ allowed to refuse the position, but I can be pretty persuasive if I need to be."

She took a moment to mull the thought of being Captain Kirk's personal assistant. From what she'd heard he seemed like a very busy person, and as his assistant, she too would become very busy. Granted, it wasn't like he wouldn't be doing _any_ work on his own; she would take up the bulk of the slack, but he'd still have things he'd have to personally attend to as well. Still, it seemed like she'd be doing an awful amount of work as his assistant.

Then again, she had always found the captain to be rather intriguing. It was unfortunate that he was no longer the womanizer he was in the Academy; somehow she had slipped through the cracks and missed making it onto the list of Kirk's many lovers and now she wouldn't have the chance. What she'd give for just one night in the bed with him…

She shook the indecent thoughts of her captain out of her mind and looked at McCoy. She gave him her best professional look and said, "I accept the position as Captain Kirk's personal assistant."

McCoy's face lit up. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "You don't have to start until tomorrow, so you can relax for the rest of the day. When Mr. Spock leaves the ship for his return to New Vulcan, I'll get you and the captain acquainted and you'll begin your duties then!"

"Understood Doctor," Rand said. "If you'll excuse me…"

Nodding, McCoy waved her off and began to focus on his work. Rand slipped out of the office and spotted Chapel working on a data pad. Chapel looked up from her data pad and gave a knowing smile at Rand. The smile was all Rand needed to confirm that McCoy's "source" was indeed her friend. Returning her smile, she shook her head and whispered, "We'll talk later," before leaving the sick bay.

Her mind reeled as she walked to her room from sick bay. As of tomorrow, she was going to be Captain Kirk's personal assistant. McCoy was rather fuzzy on all the details, but it seemed like she would be doing more than just the captain's paperwork. From what McCoy described, she'd be a cross between a caretaker, a maid, and a secretary for Kirk. She would in essence be spending most of her time with the handsome captain.

It made sense why her face split in a wide giddy smile. Any woman in her situation would drop to her knees and thank God or Buddah or whoever she prayed to for this wonderful blessing. What didn't make sense to her was why she was so utterly excited about it. The captain was tied down and happily engaged; anyone who wasn't Spock hardly showed on his radar anymore. The longer he was with Spock, the less and less his eyes wondered to his female crew members. So why was she so thrilled at the chance to spend so much time with someone she didn't stand a chance with?

Sighing, she arrived at her quarters and walked inside. All the good men are always taken…

* * *

"I really wish you didn't have to go."

Spock and Kirk stood in front of each other in the transporter room. The only other person in the room with them was a plucky ensign that was amusing himself as the two said goodbye to each other. Kirk would have preferred if they could share this moment together without anyone else around, but it was necessary to have the ensign present so there would be no delay in Spock's departure.

"The feeling is mutual but it cannot be avoided," Spock said, allowing himself to show the slightest hint of sadness on his face. "It is inevitable that I must return to New Vulcan to fulfill the remainder of my promised time. I still have much to discuss with my father, but I believe he may now be seeing our relationship from a more rational point of view. The next two months could prove to be monumental in the progress I can make with him."

Kirk's head lowered and his eyes stared at his feet. "I know…" he mumbled. "That doesn't change how lonely I'm going to be without you."

Spock's hand gently touched the underside of Kirk's chin and tilted it back up to look at him. Loving dark brown eyes peered into sad blue eyes. The corners of Spock's lips curled gently into a small smile. "I will miss you greatly," he breathed in a voice that made Kirk's legs grow weak. "Do not forget that we can still meet with each other using our mind link. I plan to visit you every night for the next two months until I return."

His tone hardened a bit, but only enough to make his point clear. "I expect you to respond to me when I attempt to make contact with you. Though I have the capability to enter your mind forcefully from afar, I would rather not use it. However, if even once you fail to respond to my contacts, I will be left with no other choice than to breach the privacy of your mind."

A shudder ran down Kirk's spine at the thought of someone forcing their way into his mind, even if it _was_ Spock. Lowering his eyes again, he said, "I promise I'll respond every night."

The smile returned to Spock's face as he leaned forward and kissed Kirk on the forehead. "You _are _aware that the reason I propose such an unlikely action is because I worry about your welfare in my absence?"

"Yeah, I know…" Kirk muttered. He was still embarrassed at his actions in the last few months, and rightfully so. A captain is supposed to show composure at all times; if anyone had wanted to, he could have been labeled emotionally compromised and unfit for duty. It actually surprised him that no one had done so, especially Corporal Peters. "I really screwed up…"

"Yes, you did," Spock said, getting a shocked look from Kirk. "You are fortunate your crew respects and admires you as much as they do. If they did not, surely you would no longer be the captain."

Kirk smirked at his fiancé. "I'm sure you would have loved to come back to the Enterprise and find out that you were the new captain."

"That would have been true two years ago," Spock said, smiling slyly back at Kirk, "but I have since then become more attracted to my position as first officer."

"Bullshit," Kirk said before leaning forward and capturing Spock's lips with his own. The two kissed tenderly for only a moment, not wanting things to progress too far. Their parting was difficult enough as it was; having to part with tightness around their lower body parts would only make it worse. Smirking again, Kirk continued, "You've wanted to get back in that captain's chair since the day I took it away from you."

Spock's eyelids lowered over his eyes and looked sultrily at the blond man before him. "I find it more pleasurable that I have found my way into the captain's bed instead of his chair."

Wide eyed, Kirk laughed in pleasant surprise at Spock's witty quip. "Wow Spock! I've had a worse influence on you than I thought! What would your father say if he heard you speak like that?"

Tilting his head to the side, Spock's eyes looked at the ceiling above him as he took a moment to contemplate his father's reaction. Before he could respond, Kirk said, "If you have to think about it, chances are you don't really want to know what his reaction would be. To be honest, I'd be scared if he came up with a response like yours!"

Kirk gave a few chuckles while Spock simply looked fondly at him and smirked. The two looked at each other and realized that the time had come for Spock to leave. "Well," Kirk said, "there's no sense in trying to delay the inevitable. You gotta get back to New Vulcan and I gotta get back to running this ship."

Spock nodded slowly and continued to stare at his love. He was infinitely better at hiding his pain inside than his counterpart, but the pain they shared was the same. He debated whether he should allow himself to openly hug Kirk or resort to the Vulcan form of showing affection. Technically he shouldn't even be thinking about this since just moments before Kirk had kissed him, but it was one thing to react to another's show of affection and another to initiate it yourself.

Luckily Spock didn't have to make the decision because Kirk made it for him. Kirk wrapped his arms around Spock's neck and hugged him tightly. Recovering from the sudden move, Spock hugged Kirk back and closed his eyes, a smile on his face. They pulled back and Spock put his hand up for Kirk to touch. Kirk placed his palm against Spock and pressed his fingers against Spock's. Pain, love, and sadness flowed back and forth between the two the moment their hands connected with each other.

Kirk looked sadly into Spock's eyes and was taken aback by the look on his face. Spock looked as though he had lost his planet and his mother all over again. _I do not want to leave you my love, _he said through their mind link.

_I know, _Kirk responded. _I don't want you to leave either. We can't keep you any longer though; your father will begin to wonder if you don't leave soon._

Spock nodded and pulled his hand back, extending only his index and middle finger towards Kirk. Kirk did the same and let their fingers touch. Only their love was transferred through their touch this time as they shared the Vulcan equivalent of a romantic kiss.

Reluctantly, the two broke the contact and lowered their hands back to their side. Spock turned toward the ensign and said, "Ensign Davis, I am ready to leave."

The ensign's head snapped up when he heard his name. Giving an awkward smile, he replied, "Oh, right! Go ahead and step on the transporter pad Mr. Spock!"

Spock nodded and walked over to the transporter pad closest to him. He looked at Kirk, who looked as though his puppy had just died. Ignoring the pain he felt in his heart, Spock raised his hand and gave the Vulcan salute. He tried to say farewell audibly, but his throat had unexpectedly constricted around a lump that had formed and prevented him from speaking.

His voice, dripping with sadness, resounded in Kirk's ears. _Goodbye for now my t'hy'la. May two months pass quickly so that we may be together again._

Before Kirk could say goodbye, Spock's body began to fade away as the ensign beamed him back aboard the Vulcan ship his father permitted him to use. Staring at the now empty transporter pad, Kirk said out loud:

"Goodbye my love…"

* * *

Kirk was lying in his room sulking when a knock came at his door. Sitting up, he sighed. It was likely that McCoy had come to offer a few words of comfort and check up on him. _He probably is thinking I've holed myself up and cut my wrists, _Kirk thought bitterly as he stood up and walked across the room to answer the door.

As expected, he saw McCoy staring back at him when the door opened. It was the presence of a blond haired woman next to him that threw him off. McCoy caught the questioning look on his face and decided to explain quickly. "May I present to you your very own personal assistant, Yeoman Janice Rand."

Kirk blinked at McCoy and then looked at Rand, who shyly waved her fingers at him. He groaned and said, "Bones, didn't I make it clear that I _didn't _want a personal assistant?"

"Yes," McCoy retorted, "but I don't recall ever saying that just because you didn't _want_ one meant you wouldn't _get_ one. I've brought her here to be instructed by you on what exactly it is you need her to do."

"I don't need her to do anything besides go back to whatever it was she was doing before you roped her into this."

"Jim," McCoy said in a dangerous tone, "I'll have you know that Spock is backing me up on this decision. I spoke to him personally about the matter and he agrees that you need a personal assistant! Are you gonna fight both me _and_ him?"

Sighing in defeat, Kirk put up his hands and said, "Alright, _alright. _I give up. If you guys think I need a personal assistant that bad, I'll show her the ropes and let her do her thing, alright?"

McCoy smiled triumphantly. He knew that mentioning Spock would make Kirk back down and he was glad he had that card to play. He looked at Rand and said, "I'll let you two get better acquainted. Have a good time!"

Kirk and Rand watched as the doctor walked down the hall whistling happily. Rolling his eyes, Kirk grumbled, "Yeah, we'll have a _swell_ time…" He turned his attention to Rand, who was now looking rather nervous. "Well, don't just stand there, come on in."

She gave a quick nod and walked past Kirk into his room. He watched her walk in and sighed heavily. Shaking his head, he walked back into the room and prepared himself for a grueling meeting with a random girl who was going to be a big part of his waking life.

At times like this, he really hated being captain…


	27. Progress

**Ch 26: Progress**

The sight in the mirror that Kirk was greeted with in his bathroom put a smile on his face. The last month had done wonders for him. Per McCoy's orders, Rand had put him on a strict diet and had him going to the gym regularly each week. Naturally he complied only after kicking and screaming like a five year old, but he was finally seeing the results. His time in the gym allowed him to tackle some of his more mundane tasks as captain while doing something good for himself at the same time. He found it odd that Rand would always accompany him when he went to work out, but he shrugged the thought off and chalked it up as her simply ensuring his adherence to the doctor's orders.

The flabbiness and lack of muscle definition were quickly eliminated and Kirk was finally pleased with his appearance again. His old confidence had returned and he was now more alert than he was before. In addition, having a personal assistant taking care of many of his usual tasks allowed him to have more free-time. With Spock gone, he found himself spending more time with his crew members, Sulu in particular. The two of them had gotten along from the start, but their schedules prevented them from building a friendship. With less to do now, he was finally getting to know his helmsman.

Sulu's favorite pastime seemed to be fencing. Whenever he looked for Sulu after his shift had ended, he always found him practicing his fencing moves. He even tried fencing with Sulu a few times and found it very enjoyable. On a couple of occasions, Sulu even went up to Kirk to discuss personal matters with him. His current predicament involved Ensign Chekov and Ensign Montalban. There was a rather unsatisfactory love triangle going on between the two of them that he didn't approve of, but unless things reached a fevered pitch, he could only give Sulu advice and pray things worked out.

As he promised, every night he visited with Spock using their mind link. It always excited him to be able to see his fiancé every night, but when the time came for them to part, the sadness always returned. Fortunately his new regimen kept him from getting too down; as soon as he awoke the next day and began his normal routine his sadness was overshadowed by the excitement each new day brought.

Giving a final smile at his reflection, he walked out of the bathroom. He was just about to start getting dressed when the door opened. The towel he had begun unwrapping from around his waist was quickly rewrapped as Rand walked into his room, scribbling on her PADD. When she looked up, she gave a cry of surprise at the Captain's state of undress and stopped in her tracks.

She spun around and stuttered, "Oh my God! I-I'm so sorry! I, I didn't know you were still getting dressed!"

Irritated by her unannounced entrance, Kirk spat, "Well you could've _knocked _you know! If you had you'd never be the wiser!"

Rand remained rooted in place as she continued to stutter, "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I wasn't paying attention and, and, and I just _assumed_ that-"

"_Quit your yakking and get out so I can get dressed!"_ Kirk yelled.

"Right! Sorry!"

She rushed out of the room and stood in the middle of the hallway clutching her chest. Her heart pounded in her ears painfully as she struggled to catch her breath. When she looked at the time on her watch, she saw that she had wandered into his quarters at precisely the same time she always did. He knew she came by at precisely 07:15 each morning to give him more than enough time to wake up and prepare for his shift, so why wasn't he ready on time today?

The image of the near naked captain brought a flush to Rand's face. The uniforms Starfleet had designed for their officers left little to the imagination as each was tailored specifically for each person. Such attention to detail was necessary as not all of Starfleet's officers were of typical human proportions and nothing looking looked less impressive than a uniform that didn't fit correctly. Because of this, it was easy to tell if someone gained or lost weight or was chunky, scrawny, or built. Rand already knew that the captain had been getting back into shape with the regimen McCoy prescribed for him, but getting a chance to see what his body looked like underneath all that clothing…

Rand stumbled backwards and propped herself against the wall next to the captain's door before her legs could give out from under her. A couple of medical officers that passed by her eyed her suspiciously, worried that she might be ill. The way she was breathing and as red as her face was, it was easy for them to make that mistake.

She swallowed hard. Why oh _why_ did she have to be the one to be assigned as his personal assistant? If anyone had known how she felt about her captain they would have deemed the choice wholly inappropriate. And yet here she was with visions of her captain doing the kind of things to her that would make her mother blush if she ever knew…

"Janice!" Kirk called from inside his room. "You can come in now! I'm decent!"

_Oh,_ she thought to herself, _you're _far_ better than decent…_

Blinking the naughty thoughts out of her head, she straightened out her uniform and walked back into the room. The captain was now fully dressing in his uniform and looking both embarrassed and irritated. Frowning, he said, "I know you've gotten rather comfortable with coming into my room in the morning to get me started with my day and all, but do me a favor and _knock_ from now on please? Every once in a while I tend to take my time with getting ready and if you walk in on me while Spock is here, I can't imagine the result would be good for anyone."

Rand thought about the possible scenario Kirk had painted for her in her mind. She pictured herself walking in as normal and discovering the two of them both naked on his bed. She also pictured herself walking into the room instead of running out and taking full advantage of the situation. It would indeed be hard to seduce a man who was totally devoted to someone else, but seducing the two of them together? Ah, the possibilities…

"_Janice!_" Kirk shouted.

The inappropriate thoughts faded away when she heard her name called by her clearly irritated captain. When she focused on his face, she saw a heavy frown and steely blue eyes staring back at her. She averted her gaze and said, "I'm sorry Captain. I promise I'll knock from now on."

"Yeah, that's great," Kirk said, "but while you were spacing out, I was asking you what my agenda is for the day, not asking you if you understood what I was staying."

"Oh! Right, today's agenda!" Rand looked down at her PADD and pulled up the day's schedule for Kirk. "Okay, today's agenda is pretty much the same as always sir. Our arrival at Omicron 7 is still estimated at two full days away from our current location, so there won't be a need to prepare for that until then. Aside from a few forms, there's really nothing of note for the day."

Kirk nodded at Rand when she finished talking. "That's good; I was hoping today would be rather uneventful." Kirk paused for a moment and said, "You know Janice, I know I seem like I'm not grateful to have you as my personal assistant, but I want to tell you I really do appreciate what you're doing."

The look on Rand's face didn't come as a surprise to Kirk. He had been rather hard on the girl over the last month and abused his power somewhat. While it was indeed her duty to ensure that his work got done and that he both ate properly and took care of himself, it wasn't her job to fetch him coffee or do his laundry. On a few occasions, he even ordered her to clean his room. Hey, if McCoy was going to demand he have an assistant, why not take full advantage of it, right?

Kirk continued, "I'm not saying I couldn't do any of the stuff I've done over the last month on my own or anything, because that certainly isn't the case. I mean, before you came around I got along just fine doing everything myself!"

"Is that why you had a nervous breakdown?"

Rand had her arms crossed, her data pad in hand. Kirk stepped forward and pointed a finger at her. "Listen here, that breakdown had _nothing_ to do with my workload, okay? It had everything to do with all the stress of being engaged to someone whose culture doesn't recognize or approve of our bond! Not to mention I had to worry about Starfleet kicking both of our asses out to the curb on the grounds of inappropriate relations between the two leading officers of the ship!"

He sighed and crossed his arms as well. "All I'm saying is that during that time, having to take care of my duties as a captain turned out to be more than I could hand. Things got better when Spock showed up, but I couldn't say having to go right back to all my duties alone would have been any easier than before he came back. You're good at what you do and you've kept my ass in check to make sure I don't lose it again."

Rand uncrossed her arms and looked at her captain. "Thank you for the praise Captain, but I didn't volunteer for the job. Doctor McCoy basically told me that he had picked me for the job and that was that. Christine put a recommendation in for me and he went with it because it meant less work for him."

"It doesn't matter," Kirk said. "Whether you chose the position or were assigned to it against your better judgment, you've been a valuable asset to me, and…" He sighed. "I want to thank you for sticking with it, even when I've been less than cooperative. I know there's still a month left until Spock returns, but I'd like it if you'd remain my assistant even after he returns."

The hard expression on Rand's face softened. His thanks had seemed like a shallow attempt at making sure she didn't feel underappreciated while still maintaining an air of superiority, but his request (not an order, but an actual _request_) to have her continue in her current position even after Spock came back showed that he really meant what he said. It wasn't like Kirk to admit he was in need of help, but without directly asking for it he had implied that her assistance was indeed needed by him.

She gave him a beautiful smile that would have wrapped him around her little finger if he weren't tied down. "Thank you Captain," she said. "I would like that."

Kirk gave his million-dollar smile right back to her and caused her cheeks to grow pink. "I'm glad to hear that Janice," he said in a voice that could melt butter. He took a few steps forward and put his hands on her shoulders. The pink in her cheeks deepened as he gazed deeply into her eyes. "Can you do something for me?"

Butterflies swirled madly in Rand's stomach. Could this be the moment she'd been hoping for? "S-sure…what is it?" she stammered.

"Can you go down to the mess hall and bring me some blueberry pancakes?"

She stared at Kirk blankly and blinked rapidly, as if doing so would help her process what it was he had just said. "Blueberry…pancakes?"

"Yeah," he grinned, "with maple syrup and butter please. Oh! And get me some bacon too! Extra crispy please!"

Her brain still processing what had just happened, she managed to say, "Yeah…sure."

He slapped her shoulders and grinned even bigger. "Thanks a bunch Janice! You're the greatest! Now run along! I've got forms to go over on my computer!"

Shoulders sagging, she nodded and said, "Yes Captain…" before turning around and walking out the room. As she clomped down the hall, she found herself wondering how she ever thought he really valued her as an assistant…

* * *

Sarek, Spock, and Spock Prime all sat together in Sarek's living room. They had just returned from a meeting with some of Spock's students and a few Vulcans in the Science Academy that were expressing their personal discomfort with the High Council's ruling on engagements. Judging solely on what they heard, it seemed as though the general opinion of the High Council's decisions for the Vulcan race was unsatisfactory at best. At worse, it appeared that if nothing was done soon, repopulation would be the least of their worries.

Sarek had a grim look on his face while Spock was having a great difficulty submerging his apprehension. Prime had a serene look on his face as he was unaffected by the Council's decisions on engagements and was proving to be the emotional anchor for the other two.

"The facts have presented themselves Sarek," he stated calmly. "The Council's decisions are proving to have an adverse effect on our people. Something must be done. If our people lose faith in the Council, it is likely that a civil war could eventually break out. The Council is not wrong in their decisions; they are simply misguided in their approach.

"It is easy to assume that because we are Vulcan we are able to put aside all emotion for the path of logic, but we have all lost someone near and dear to us and we all still grieve the loss of our planet. Such emotional restraint is far from easy even with our abilities. Our one solace is our remaining family and loved ones."

"Father," Spock said quietly, "in my time of need, Lieutenant Uhura was there to bring me comfort. Had circumstances remained as they were, it is likely I would have chosen her for my life mate. However, as time passed I found myself becoming more and more attracted to Captain Kirk. The captain…" he paused and corrected himself, "_Jim_ has helped fill the empty space that was once occupied by my mother as well as the empty space that I reserved for the one person I truly love. I feel more like myself around him than with anyone else in the universe. To be unable to spend my life with him as his life mate simply because he is not Vulcan is asking far too much of me, especially when the pain of losing most of my people is still fresh.

"As you have seen, there are many others that feel the same way I do. Granted, out of those you spoke with, I am the only one who has chosen a non-Vulcan mate, but the rest are displeased that their logic is being renounced as inferior to the High Council's. Those of us that are old enough to know who we are best suited with should be allowed to choose our own mates, and those who are far too young to choose on their own should be allowed to choose when they are."

Sarek sighed heavily. "I do not wish you to believe that I disagree with your logic; however is it the duty of the High Council to preserve our culture. With our planet eradicated along with most of our race they are doing everything in their power to cling on to our old ways…"

"…but our old ways are no longer relevant in some instances such as this," Prime interjected. "What good is it to plan and regulate how and with who we mate with when there are so few of us left? I realize the importance of preserving that which makes us distinctly Vulcan, but perhaps we could learn a thing or two from our cousins the Romulans."

"Do you really think that creating a temporary alliance with the Romulans will correct that?" Sarek said, glaring at both Spock and Prime. Prime kept an even expression on his face while Spock's calm exterior began to falter, revealing his true feelings on the matter. "Our problems lie with how we proceed as a people and finding the best way to repopulate our race. Allying with our cousins, with whom we have a very troubled and distrusting history with, will not change anything. This is an internal struggle, one that will only worsen with the involvement of those who not only do not agree with our way of life."

They all sat quietly, mulling over Sarek's words. In a low voice, Spock asked, "What do you suppose we do then?"

Sarek took a deep breath and then released it. "I will approach the High Council with these concerns myself and see what comes of it. If necessary, I will call on those we have spoken with, as well as you and T'Maire. I will not pretend that this will go over well with them; it is likely they will chastise me for attempting to renounce our old ways. I could lose my position on the Council. Should that happen, all hope of our people finding a logical resolution for repopulation and re-establishing the protocol for the choosing of mates will be lost, and the civil war we are trying to avoid will inevitably come to be."

"I will join you in your approach to the High Council," Prime said.

"As will I," Spock added. "I believe it will strengthen your argument to have the presence of those who see things from the perspective of the Vulcan people by your side when you present your argument."

Sarek gave them both a nod. "You are right. I can use any and all help in this endeavor. I hope that your assistance will not be in vain."

"I am sure that will not be the case." Prime rose from his chair and looked down at his father and his younger self. "I shall leave you two to discuss more personal things alone. I have other matters to attend to. If you will excuse me…" He raised his hand in the Vulcan salute and left Sarek's home after receiving two salutes in return.

Neither of the two men spoke for a while. Both simply sat in the silence of the room and processed things in their mind. It was not that neither had anything to say; that was far from the case. The problem was finding a way to converse about the subject without becoming overly emotional.

Sarek spoke first. "You will be pleased to know that I will not stand in the way of your relationship with Captain Kirk any longer. I see now that yours is truly a bond founded in love and respect for each other. I could not have asked for anything better for you. Neither could your mother."

Spock looked at Sarek with an incomprehensible look. So many different emotions were swirling in his heart that it showed plainly on his face. Sarek looked at his son and gave a warm smile, small, yet noticeable. It was the first time Spock had received such a look from his father and it only made the swirling ball of emotions in his chest grow bigger.

"I wish that things between the three of us had gone differently," Sarek confessed. "Your mother was not the only one that agonized over the fact that you were rebuked because of the love we shared. You have spent so long trying to belong to a race that thought so little of you for my sake, and for that, you have my deepest apologizes."

"Father…" Spock breathed.

"I am proud of you Spock," Sarek continued. He looked deep into the watering eyes of his dearest son and smiled again. "I could not have asked for a better son than you. I regret that I reacted adversely to your relationship with Captain Kirk, but I know better now. I…I do not wish for us to remain as distant as we have the entirety of your lifetime. There are far too few of us for that to be acceptable, and with your mother gone…"

Against Sarek's will, tears began to form in his eyes. He paused and blinked them away. No, he would not cry. His pain was great, but his son's was greater. Being responsible for some of the pain he had suffered in all these years, he did not have a right to shed tears. Swallowing hard, he said, "With your mother gone, our relationship is of the utmost importance. I will not ask for you to love me as dearly as you loved her, but I will ask you to turn to me when you need me. I wish to be the father that you deserve to have, one that you are not ashamed to have and are proud to share with your life mate."

Spock had to swallow the lump in his throat down. It seemed he was not the only one that was more prone to emotional reactions to various situations after Vulcan had been destroyed, along with it the bulk of the Vulcan race. At first he had simply linked it to his half-human heritage, but it was becoming clearer that it was the event itself that created a change in his people. It seemed like their Romulan cousins were not so wrong for embracing their emotions. Doing so made you stronger, not weaker.

"I have always been proud to be your son," Spock struggled to say through the lump that persisted in his throat. "I have been and always shall be."

In an extremely rare show of affection, Sarek opened his arms and pulled his son into a tight hug. It was the first time he had hugged his son since he was a young child. As he held his son against him, feeling his warmth, he wondered how he could have ever allowed himself to refrain from hugging him for so long. It was true that the gesture was a far more emotional one than a Vulcan would allow himself, but it was extremely calming and pleasurable to hold one you loved so close. His nose was filled with his son's scent, which painfully reminded him of the spouse he had lost.

Spock found himself unable to maintain control of his emotions. He felt the familiar heat behind his eyes as the tears began to fall down his cheeks. Sarek could feel his son shaking in his arms and warm wetness soaking into his shoulder. He allowed himself to shed a single tear in response to his son's sadness and said softly, "If you wish to cry my son, I will lend you my shoulder to cry on."

His father's words were all that he needed to allow his emotions to come flooding out of him. His body grew limp as he allowed his father to support him completely and cried into his father's shoulder. Sarek's shaky hands rubbed his son's back as more tears began to fall from his eyes as well. He tried to maintain some of his composure as he held his son, but soon he found himself swept away in the painful emotions he had held back for nearly two years. The two sat together, crying audibly as they held each other close.

As they cried, a second pair of arms wrapped around them and held them close. Though she couldn't be seen with the naked eye, they both knew that Amanda was hugging them both. Silently, they both regretted never allowing themselves to share a moment like that while she was alive.


	28. Change Is a Scary Thing

**Ch 27: Change Is a Scary Thing**

The wind blew softly through the trees and over the grassy field that Spock and T'Maire sat in. They faced each other and sat cross-legged on the pink and blue checkered blanket T'Maire insisted they sit on whenever they met through their mind link. Spock sipped green tea from a Japanese styled tea cup while T'Maire sucked a vanilla milkshake through a crazy straw. Spock had long since abandoned the desire to question her actions; he found the answers she provided him with only served to give him a headache.

Licking her lips of the creamy drink, she asked, "So you, Uncle Sarek, and 'Surok' are going to meet with the High Council tomorrow?"

"That is correct," Spock said as he lowered his tea cup. "The Council has decided that the meeting will be held publicly before the entire colony, as our argument is that the rules and regulations that they are enforcing affects everyone as a whole. Perhaps this is their way of determining if there is any truth to our claims, but nonetheless, it will most likely prove to be in our favor to have the meeting be public."

T'Maire drank more of her milkshake through the bright pink straw that curved unnecessarily. Spock couldn't see the appeal of such a frivolous drinking tool, but it was more productive to let her have her way than to scold her when they met. Licking her lips again, she said, "What time will the meeting be held?"

"At sunrise," Spock answered. "The council would like this to be handled as quickly as possible so it interferes as little as possible with the normal work schedule for the day."

Nodding, T'Maire said, "Well, I'll have to make sure I set out as soon as we part."

Spock's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Set out? T'Maire, surely you are not planning to attend the meeting?"

She gave him an indignant look. "Well why not? This meeting affects me too! If the entire Vulcan colony gets a chance to participate in this meeting, I don't see why I shouldn't be able to as well!"

Spock closed his eyes as a way of sighing at his childhood friend. He was beginning to regret ever mentioning the meeting to her, but he had promised to keep her updated on the situation. "T'Maire, I do not think it is wise for you to simply abandon your duties so suddenly. Even if this meeting dictates the direction of our race's future, it would reflect poorly on you to rush away just to attend it. You have your responsibilities to the star base to think about."

"Oh bah," T'Maire said, waving Spock's concerns away. "Things are dreadfully dull right now so they wouldn't miss me for a day! I'll just tell my CO what's going on and tell him I'll be back before he even notices I'm gone! Besides, as much as I do for the star base, they owe me a little bit of leeway in my vacation time!"

This time Spock sighed openly. She was not only incorrigible, but she was hard-headed as well. All things considering, he couldn't help but give her a small smile in response. "I appreciate your support T'Maire. Though I believe you should stay on your star base and await the outcome, I cannot help but feel…happy. It is a strange emotional response."

T'Maire smiled prettily at Spock and rubbed his arm. If the feeling was adverse to him, he didn't show it. "It's not strange at all Spock; it's a normal emotional response for those you care about."

Her straw gurgled as she drank the last of her milkshake. Placing the cup down on the blanket, she rose from her seat and dusted herself off. "Well, I must be off. You still have to contact Jim and I need to make my way to Vulcan if I'm going to make the meeting."

"Indeed," Spock agreed. "I shall expect to see you bumbling into the meeting sometime after it has already started."

Smirking, she gave a quick salute and began to fade away. The instant she disappeared, the world around Spock began to fade away to the stark whiteness of his sub-conscious. Rising out of his sub-conscious, he opened his eyes and surveyed the room he sat in. After returning to New Vulcan a few weeks ago, he decided to move his belongings into his father's home. The guest bedroom was decorated in the typical Vulcan way, with only what was needed present. Spock regretted not having anything there to make it feel like a home, but sadly most of their belongings were destroyed with their planet.

He took a deep breath and rose from the ground he sat on. Taking a bit of a break, he did a few stretches to relax his tightening muscles. Sitting cross-legged on the floor for an hour was nothing for a Vulcan, but that didn't mean he wanted to remain tense.

_Hey! Where are you?!?_

The sound of Jim's voice in Spock's head instantly caught his attention. He stopped mid-stretch and stood up straight.

_Jim?!?_

_Yes Jim! _Kirk's tone of voice was irritated. _Weren't you the one who said you'd visit me every night and if I didn't respond you'd force your way into my mind?!?_

Spock blinked in shock. _Yes, I did. _

_Well, you're almost two hours late for our usual meeting time! Don't tell me you of all people forgot!_

_Ah, no I did not. _He chuckled lightly. _Forgive me. I was speaking with T'Maire about tomorrow's meeting with the Vulcan High Council. _

Kirk's tone of voice softened when he found out why Spock was late in contacting him. _Oh right, I forgot that was tomorrow. Are you ready for it?_

Spock sighed. _As ready for it as I can be,_ he confessed. _I have no idea how this will turn out. I am hoping that the presence of the entire New Vulcan population will make things go smoother, but there is no telling what the end result will be._

_It'll be fine, _Kirk said reassuringly. _You've got a lot of Vulcans backing you up; I don't think the Council can ignore the sound of ten thousand displeased Vulcans…_

_It would be most unwise if they did, _Spock said.

_Well, since you've got a big day tomorrow, I won't keep you long. You're already up later than you probably should be._

_You know that I am willing to go without sleep if it means spending more time with you, _Spock said, smiling through their link.

Kirk smiled back and said, _I know, but that's not the best thing to do when you have to present a convincing argument to the Vulcan High Council come sunrise. You know where to find me when it's all over._

A rush of love flowed from Kirk to Spock through their link, wrapping around Spock as if Kirk were there with him and hugging him from behind. Spock sent the same feeling of love back to Kirk and remained silent for a brief moment. _I pray I have good news for you when we speak tomorrow night my love,_ he said.

_So do I. Good night._

_Good night._

Spock felt Kirk's consciousness leave him and sighed. It always saddened him to feel Kirk leave him each night, but he knew it was inevitable. Still, he valued ever minute he got to spend with his fiancé during their time apart, no matter how few he got. His time on New Vulcan was nearly over and with any luck, he'd return to the Enterprise properly engaged to the man he loved.

So much depended on the meeting that was only hours away. Spock couldn't help but be somewhat worried of the outcome, but as he laid his head down on his pillow, he felt strangely at ease.

His eyelids slowly lowered over his eyes and he descended into a peaceful sleep. He would need to be as well rested as possible for the stressful day that lay ahead of him…

* * *

It was astounding that there was a building on New Vulcan that was capable of seating the entire colony inside of it. It was even more astounding to see every single Vulcan in the colony seated and awaiting the start of the meeting. Spock felt less like he was conferencing with the High Council and more like he was performing in a play. Though his external appearance was stoic, inside he trembled. His palms were somewhat sweaty and the room felt colder than it actually was. Though he had not eaten that morning, he felt like he was going to be sick.

So this was what stage fright felt like.

Sarek sensed his son's apprehension and whispered out the side of his mouth, "It will be fine my son. Remain calm so that your reasoning does not falter."

"It is not my reasoning I am worried about," Spock whispered back. "It is the contents of my stomach." He thought to himself, _If this is some of what humans feel, I should not have been so anxious to merge my Vulcan half with my human half. I was much better off before I embraced my emotions…_

The High Council entered the room at last and seated their selves. The gentle murmur of sound that came from ten thousand Vulcans conversing amongst themselves immediately ceased. T'Pau, stern faced as always, spoke in a loud voice that carried throughout the arena. "This is the first time in Vulcan history that a meeting such as this has taken place. Sarek, Spock, and Surok wish to challenge the teachings of Surak. Sarek, as you are a member of the High Council, you are required to state your argument. Spock and Surok will support you as necessary when designated to do so. Step forward and let yourself be heard."

Sarek took a full step forward and stood up straight before the High Council. Now that he was standing before them, he too felt the icy cold grip of fear around his neck. Despite this, he spoke loudly and clearly.

"High Council, it has been brought to my attention that our people are vexed by the Council's decisions in regards to repopulating our race. The manner in which new mates are chosen for those whose mates perished in Vulcan's destruction is unacceptable."

"You choose harsh words to open your argument with," one of the High Council said with a raised eyebrow.

"My words merely convey the feelings of our people," Sarek clarified. "Many believe that their logic is being deemed inferior to that of the High Council."

"We make no judgment of those we assign life mates to," another council member said. "We simply believe that to maintain order, fairness, and efficiency, we would choose the life mates for all who are in need of one rather than doing so only for some."

"That may be the case, but in doing so you are disregarding the wishes of those who still mourn the loss of their life mates."

T'Pau gave Sarek a skeptical look. "Your statement infers that there are those who are showing emotion in regards to those who have passed. Is that your intent?"

"It is."

Some of the crowd gasped at Sarek's bold statement. Those who felt exactly as he described remained silent and unfettered. Sarek continued, "I speak from experience when I say that the loss of a life mate is indeed a terribly emotional thing. Were it only the case that some lost their life mates, our emotions could contained as always. But we deal not only with the loss of life mates; we deal with the loss of nearly our entire race, as well as our home world. Mourning over such a loss cannot be done quickly, nor can it be done quietly. Any other race would express deep sadness in our situation; we should not be asked to do differently."

"It is our renouncing of emotion that sets us apart from other races," T'Pau spoke. "It is also what allows us to remain a civilized people. Would you prefer that we allow ourselves to degrade back to the ways of our ancestors and condemn the last of our race?"

"Of course not," Sarek said. "To think that I wish that would be foolish. I merely believe that our people should be allowed to mourn and to move forward in their life in the way they wish individually."

A portly Vulcan to Sarek's far right spoke loudly. "To do so would go against the teachings of Surak, which we have followed for centuries. Is _that _what you are proposing?"

"Last I checked the teachings of Surak were not set in stone. They were meant to calm the chaos of our race so that we did not self-destruct. Our situation is different now than it was when the teachings were first introduced. We now know the importance of self-restraint and control over our emotions, but our control should not be so strict that we are not allowed to behave as we are meant to!

"It is not the teachings of Surak I challenge as I stand before you; it is the decisions of the High Council to force the ignorance of emotion of an emotionally compromised people. I do not propose that we abolish the teachings of Surak; I simply propose that we allow the survivors of Vulcan's destruction to choose their own mates, whether their decision is based on love, logic, or both."

T'Pau's eyes narrowed at Surak. "Such a decision was made by you against our better wishes," she sneered. "Your son, a half-blooded Vulcan, was the result. Do you really expect us to allow the remainder of our people the same choice? What good is a race filled with half-breeds?"

Spock had remained silent this entire time until this point. For years he had allowed the High Council to throw it into his father's face that he had chosen a human mate instead of a Vulcan one. For years he had allowed others to make him feel inferior when he was just as good as any other Vulcan. For years he forced himself to ignore who he truly was, hating himself and consequentially his mother for being human.

No longer.

He stepped forward and in a loud, strong voice said, "My father chose my mother because he was the Vulcan ambassador to Earth. Though it was not his intention, he fell in love with her and chose her for his life mate. I am the result of such a bond. Were I born less intelligent, more unruly, or somehow malformed, your harsh judgment on my father for his choice in a non-Vulcan mate could be justified. However, if my ancestry were unknown, one would never be able to determine that I was not a full-blooded Vulcan. Therefore, your incessant harping on my human mother is both illogical and reminiscent of bigotry, which represents poor qualities of those who are supposed to be the leaders of a logical race of people."

"Such insolence!" T'Pau gasped along with the rest of the council.

Spock continued, "You spend so much time focusing on the things that don't truly matter that you forget that you are leading _people,_ not ideals. Surak created his teachings so that he could bring out the full potential of our people, not to scrutinize each one of them and make social exiles of those who do not meet the unrealistic ideal created by his followers. In the centuries that we have followed the path laid out by Surak, we have forgotten what truly makes us great. It is not merely our logic or our intellect which makes us great, and it most certainly is _not_ our breeding. The true source of our greatness is our strength as a people and our connection with one another. _That_ is what _truly _makes us great.

"Within months of losing our planet we were able to support ourselves without the help of Starfleet. Already we are making technological advancements to make life easier for us on this, our new home. We have recovered so fast, not because of our abilities, but because of our sheer determination to survive. Together we can overcome any obstacle, but if we restrain ourselves as we have during better times, our race will fall. If that happens, the only ones we will be able to blame are ourselves."

The entire arena fell deadly silent. The words that Spock spoke were disturbingly accurate and struck through the hearts of every Vulcan present. Many in attendance had regarded Spock in the same way that the High Council had, others simply pitied him for being so unfortunate as to be of mixed breeding. Few in attendance, if any besides T'Maire, ever stopped to think that aside from his human heritage, he was just as Vulcan as the rest of them.

No, in this, his one shining moment, he had proved himself to be far better than any of them. Perhaps this was the strength he drew from his humanity. In being only half-Vulcan, he was able to look past the haughty view most Vulcans had of themselves and see them for what they really were: beings frightened of their own power and potential.

From her seat in the crowd, T'Maire beamed. She had always admired Spock for his courageousness, but at this moment, she was truly proud to know him. Her initial reaction to the Council's words was to rise up and begin ranting about how illogical they were, but it seemed like Spock was one step ahead of her. Before she could even lift up out of her seat, Spock stepped forward and said the very words she had been thinking for years. She could tell that the words he spoke had plagued him for years. Only now was he truly able to call everyone out on the way they treated him and others that were not Vulcan.

Sarek's heart weighed heavily in his chest. He regretted the strain he had put on his son for so long, but he was glad that he was now confronting those that had oppressed him. With luck, his words reached the High Council. The silence that hung in the air was promising in that aspect.

Prime's words seemed louder than they really were when he spoke. "It is time we set tradition aside and pursued a new course for ourselves," he said. "Surely after centuries of following Surak's teachings we can find a way to successfully balance logic with emotion? Embracing who we are will only make us stronger. Let us begin to forge this brave new world in which we live in to suit that which we are now, not who we used to be."

The High Council remained silent a while longer, clearly contemplating what it was that was said. Finally, T'Pau said, "We will consider all that you have said, but there is no guarantee that we will change how we are handling the repopulation of our…"

"I do not love the man I am bonded to!"

The heads of every Vulcan in the building turned to face the voice of the young Vulcan girl who stood in her seat and spoke. Nine thousand, nine-hundred and ninety nine pairs of eyes stared at her in shock and awe. Her face glowed bright green as the embarrassment of her outspokenness began to sink in. Regardless, T'Valia remained steadfast and continued on.

"I lost my bond mate in the destruction of Vulcan. I was not particularly close to him aside from our bond, but his death combined with our entire planet dying with him affected me deeply. Salonius and I turned to each other to deal with our grief and fell in love. Were it not for the Council's decision to pick new life mates for everyone, it would be him that I would be bonded with!"

Her eyes filled with angry tears that she didn't bother to hold back. "It is not fair! We have lost so much already, yet now you ask us to surrender our freedom of choice! For what? Logic? Repopulation? We are not to be bred like animals to your satisfaction! Whatever life spawns from our loins will be birthed into a society that thinks and chooses for itself!"

Another Vulcan, this one an older male, stood from his seat and spoke as well. "I too lost my mate in the destruction of Vulcan, as well as the entirety of my family. I wish to mourn their loss and continue my life in solitude, yet the High Council would have me ignore my feelings for the sake of birthing more children! Does it not matter that I choose not to start another family?"

"Order!" T'Pau yelled. "Our survival is more important than personal feelings! The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one!"

A younger man stood up and said, "We _are _the many! Our needs are being ignored by the Council because they believe they know what is best for us! Your sole purpose is to ensure our culture continues on, not to dictate how we should live our lives! If this is how you wish to use your power, then we the many have no use for you!"

One by one more Vulcans rose from their seat and began to protest. Before long the entire colony had risen to its feet and was shouting at the Council. There had never been a sight quite like this in all of Vulcan history. In all the years that the High Council had existed, not once had their decisions been rebuked, especially at this magnitude. Even T'Pau, the most composed Vulcan on the Council and in the entire Vulcan race was rattled.

Strangely enough, it was Sarek who managed to calm the near riotous crowd of infuriated Vulcans. He threw his arms up and shouted above the din, "My people! Be silent!" To the surprise of the Council, as well as Spock and Prime, the crowd grew silent. Lowering his arms, he turned back to the Council and gave them a small smug smile.

"The many have spoken. They have made their needs clear. Will you continue to ignore their pleas?"

T'Pau looked at the members of the Council that sat to her left and to her right. They gave her apprehensive looks as they were not sure what to do and looked to her for guidance. At times like this, her fellow council members were useless. Taking a deep breath, she spoke on their behalf, regardless of whether or not they would agree with what she said.

"Effective tomorrow, any and all engagement ceremonies performed before the Council will be null and void unless otherwise stated. You will have until sunset of this day to proclaim if you wish for your current bond to remain recorded. Any and all new engagement ceremonies can be performed before the Council beginning at high noon tomorrow."

To the surprise of the Council, the colony erupted in cheers and applause. Each of the Vulcans before them were voluntarily releasing the control on their emotions and rejoicing in the return of the freedom to choose who to spend their life with. T'Maire rushed down from her seat and tackle hugged Spock on the floor. Giggling madly, she said, "You've done it! You've done it! Now your engagement to Jim will be recognized!"

Spock decided to follow the trend of his fellow Vulcans and smiled openly. He let all of his happiness wash over him and control him for just this one moment. He wrapped his arms around T'Maire and lifted her off the ground, laughing. For the first time in their lives, they laughed and smiled like little children would.

Putting T'Maire down, he faced his father, who had a smile on his face as well. He rushed over to his father and hugged him tightly. Sarek put his hand on the back of his son's head and held him close, smiling with a tear falling down his cheek. He whispered in Spock's ear, "You have made me and your mother very proud of you my son."

Spock let a couple tears of happiness fall from his eyes, but continued to smile and laugh. He had never felt happiness like this before. It was a feeling of pure joy and triumph, a feeling he didn't know if he'd feel again but he hoped he would.

Calling for order once more, T'Pau shouted, "This will come to pass on one condition!"

The crowd quieted down to hear her words. Though she didn't show it, she was pleased that it was her that got the crowd to calm its self this time. She continued, "You are all allowed to marry whomever you wish. Obviously we would prefer they be Vulcan, but surely we will only have to worry about those who are in Starfleet in regards to that." She made sure to cut an eye at T'Maire and Spock. Spock ignored her, but T'Maire childishly stuck her tongue out at her.

"Any and all marriages will be performed before the Vulcan High Council, and upon marriage, you will be expected to begin having children immediately. Those who do not wish to marry and have children will be required to adopt at least one orphaned child of their choosing. If these conditions are not satisfactory, the request to choose your own life mate will be denied and the current documented engagements will be forever binding."

All eyes turned to Spock. For whatever reason, they expected his word to be final. He looked T'Pau in the eye and said, "The conditions are satisfactory. We the Vulcan people agree to these terms."

"So it shall be," T'Pau said, rising from her chair. "The Council will adjourn temporarily before accepting requests to keep current engagements in effect. You are all free to go."

The crowd had regained some of its composure, but there were still a great deal of excitement amongst the colonist. Their freedom had been granted, and they had Spock, Sarek, and Prime to thank for it.


	29. The Future

**Ch 28: The Future**

Spock, Prime, Sarek, and T'Maire waited until the rest of the colony had filed out of the building before leaving themselves. It took the colony a considerable amount of time to calm themselves down enough to leave the building and go back to their lives. It was still somewhat amazing to see an emotional response of that intensity from ten thousand Vulcans, but given all they had been through, it was at the very least excusable.

The four walked in silence, observing the sight around them. It was amazing. The meeting seemed to act as a dissolving agent for the walls Vulcans had held around their hearts for hundreds of years. Though they weren't completely human in their actions and responses to one another, it seemed that some were less afraid to smile or laugh or frown openly. There was no way of knowing if this openness would continue on after that day or not, but it was still quite a sight to see.

"Did you see them?" T'Maire said after they arrived at Sarek's house and stepped inside. "I've never in my entire life seen Vulcans act so openly happy like that!"

"You are indeed correct," Sarek said. "This day marks a brand new age for our people, a day where Vulcans begin to come to terms with their emotions and find a proper balance for them and logic. Truly this is a monumental occasion."

He turned to his son and gave a knowing look, accompanied with the slightest of smiles. "Would you not agree Spock?"

Spock returned the smile to his father and nodded. "Indeed I would father. As Mr. Scott would say, 'this is exciting'."

T'Maire laughed lightly. "Something about you saying 'exciting' just doesn't sound right Spockie."

Spock grimaced. "If you would allow me to be a bit more emotional than I personally prefer, I would like to tell you how much I _hate_ being called 'Spockie'. It is most possibly the vilest, most puerile nickname that you could ever have chosen for me. That name makes me feel as if I am a small pet being beckoned by its owner. If you call me Spockie again, I am 88.329 percent certain that I will scream."

Everyone in the room looked at Spock in mute surprise. Ever prepared with a witty response, T'Maire came back with, "What, should I call you Spockula instead?"

Spock gave T'Maire a dirty look and said, "If it were not for the fact that I do not wish to lose my position in Starfleet and spend an immeasurable amount of time in solitary confinement, it would be highly likely that you would not be alive to return back to Star Base 215 as I would strangle you to death."

Spock's attempt at a snarky response to T'Maire caused her to laugh uncontrollably. This only made Spock glare darkly at her in response, but inevitably, he couldn't help but crack a smile. T'Maire stood up straight and wiped the tears from her eyes. When she was able to catch her breath, she said, "Spock, you have _got_ to be the only person in the universe who could be so damned funny when they're being completely and deadly serious!"

T'Maire continued laughing as the others merely looked on in amusement. Her laughter was interrupted by an unexpected knock on the door. Everyone looked at the door and then looked at each other. "Who could that be?" T'Maire asked.

"I am uncertain," Sarek said. "I am not expecting any visitors today."

Sarek glided across the floor to the door and opened it. Behind the door stood T'Pau, grim faced, rigid, and regal as always. She didn't wait for Sarek to welcome her into his home; as soon as the door had opened she made her way inside. Anyone else would take such an entrance into their home as an insult, but knowing that T'Pau's presence meant something of great importance, neither Sarek nor T'Maire said anything in protest.

All who stood before her held their tongue as they waited for her to speak. After surveying those before her, she said, "Sarek. Spock. I must speak with you both in private."

Blunt and to the point. T'Pau never did care for niceties when she had something to talk about. She was also very adamant about discussing important matters only before those that were directly involved.

Sarek and Spock exchanged glances and nodded at the priestess turned head of the High Council. Sarek moved forward and led them to the guest bedroom where Spock was sleeping. Closing the door behind him after allowing Spock and T'Pau to enter before him, he turned to T'Pau and said, "What business do you have with us T'Pau?"

"I do hope you do not take me for a fool Sarek," she said coldly. "I have known you and your son for many years. Neither of you would so brazenly challenge the teachings of Surak without ulterior motives. I demand to know the true meaning behind your request to speak before the council on the colony's behalf."

Spock froze in place at T'Pau's request. He looked at his father who in turned looked at him. Taking a deep breath, Spock said, "I am not truly bonded with T'Maire."

T'Pau's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"The bond that T'Maire and I share is no more than a bond between good friends. We are in no way actually engaged to each other. I had already forged a life bond with someone else before we performed the engagement ceremony."

"Why am I not surprised?" T'Pau said angrily. "I assume the one you have chosen is human?"

In a low voice, Spock answered. "Yes. He is also my captain."

T'Pau gasped softly. She snapped her head toward Sarek and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You knew this all along. You facilitated this, this falsehood before the entire High Council! I will have your position for this!"

"You speak irrationally T'Pau," Sarek said darkly yet calmly. "I assure you I knew not of Spock's engagement to another until five months ago. The manner in which I discovered the truth was…unfortunate for us both."

"But you must have known that their bond was not legitimate!"

"I admit that my choice in T'Maire as a mate for Spock was based on the premise of falsifying a bond between them to allow them both to choose their own mate," Sarek confessed. Glancing at his son with a twinkle in his eye, he added. "In all things concerning my son, it seems my judgment slips drastically."

T'Pau fumed. "Had I discovered this treachery before, the meeting would _never_ have taken place!"

"On the contrary," Spock countered, "I believe it would have. Though our personal reasons were less than honorable, the concerns of our people would still have existed. The fact that the meeting took place at all prevented civil unrest and inevitably a civil war. Harmony amongst those you lead is far more important than the actions of a handful of Vulcans. After all, you yourself said the needs of the many outweigh those of the few or the one."

Somehow T'Pau found it in herself to calm herself down. Though she looked like a tea kettle about to boil over and spew hot water everywhere, she spoke evenly. "Your point has been made young Spock. This treachery will not leave this room, of that you have my word. But know this the both of you. If ever such a scheme is devised again, you would be wise not to carry it out."

Glaring at Spock, T'Pau added. "You will bring your captain here tomorrow to make your engagement legal by Vulcan law. Immediately afterwards you two will be wed." She ignored the shocked look on Spock's face as she continued. "You will also make arrangements to adopt a child, as we will not allow a child of New Vulcan to be born without a mother. These rules are absolute, so do not attempt to weasel your way out of them."

"What if I offered to birth their child?"

The three of them turned their head toward the voice of T'Maire, who was leaning against the doorway with a smug smile on her face. T'Pau's stare harden at the Vulcan woman who was a disgrace to their race. Half-blooded as he was, Spock was still a much better example of what it meant to be a Vulcan than T'Maire ever was.

"_What_ did you say?" T'Pau growled.

Enjoying the look on T'Pau's face, she pushed herself off of the doorway and walked toward the wizen-faced Vulcan. "You heard me," she said in a playful tone. "What if I offered to birth their child?"

"It is possible," Sarek said, redirecting T'Pau's searing gaze from T'Maire to himself. "The DNA from both Captain Kirk and Spock could easily be combined and injected into one of T'Maire's eggs in her body. Though the child will be the product of two males and a female, it is entirely possible that the child will be born healthy. Furthermore, the child will be born a half-Vulcan just as his father was rather than one quarter Vulcan."

"I'm stationed on a Star Base," T'Maire added. "It's much safer for a child to be born and raised there than to send a child to live aboard a Constitution class Federation ship which frequently finds itself in danger. This not only gives Kirk and Spock time to prepare for such a drastic life change before the child is born, but allows them to start their own family safely with someone they trust. I'm sure it'd also make Starfleet happy to know that their prized ship will be run by those who aren't preoccupied with the welfare of their child."

"We would prefer that any child born to a Vulcan be educated in the Vulcan way from birth," T'Pau sneered.

"I'm sure you would," T'Maire shot back. "But in case you weren't paying attention to what happened during the meeting, our colony is preparing to rewrite the rules. The days of Surak are steadily coming to an end T'Pau. Pretty soon we'll be seeing Vulcans smiling at each other and showing affection to those they love."

"Such is the path of destruction!"

"Such is the path of the future," Spock said. Whether it was T'Maire's presence or his desire to see his race change for the better, his courage seemed to know no bounds. "Our race has become stagnant T'Pau. Like it or not, in order for our race to rebuild and thrive as we once did, we will need to take a lesson from the humans and embrace our emotions. If we do not then we will inevitably become extinct. A little less control would actually do us all more benefit than harm."

T'Pau glared at him and then at Sarek. "Curse the both of you for your inclination towards humans. It has sullied your logic!"

"Last I checked snobbery didn't constitute as logic," T'Maire said. "If you want to blame someone for this, blame the High Council. They were the ones who assigned Sarek to become the Vulcan ambassador to Earth."

"Such an appointment would not have taken place if we would have known he would be seduced by a human whore!"

If Sarek had not been standing near Spock, T'Pau would have likely be struck down and beaten to death. It took all his strength to hold Spock in place. The look in Spock's eyes could have destroyed the very planet they were on just as easily as Nero had destroyed Vulcan. Unfortunately for Spock, T'Pau took the fierce anger that she had stirred up in Spock as an opening to prod further at old wounds.

She pointed a gnarled finger at him and said, "This is the very thing you wish on our people! Uncontrollable rage that will spiral out of control and destroy us all! We are better off without emotions! Your human heritage has made you a liability to the entire Vulcan race! You are a loose cannon, a ticking time bomb that could go off at any time! Your joining Starfleet was the best choice you ever could have made, as your impurity would have corrupted us all had you remained on Vulcan! Just from being here for five months you have completely derailed hundreds of years of logical thinking and restraint!"

"What good has our restraint done for us?" Spock hissed. "All it has done is delusion us into thinking that our greatest strength is ignoring what is in our hearts! We are cold even to those we love, and for what?"

"For the preservation of our people! What could be more important than that?"

"Our people's happiness!"

T'Pau's words stopped in her throat. Spock knew that her silence meant that she was digesting what he said. He took her brief silence as an opportunity to strengthen his argument.

"My entire life has been dedicated to becoming the Vulcan ideal. Since I was born I have been voluntarily ignoring my own feelings so that I can think and act logically. I have abandoned my true self just so I could fit in with the world I was born into. Despite it all, my scores, my behavior, my constant pursuit of logic and self-control, I was constantly ridiculed and tortured by everyone, even the High Council themselves.

"Your supposedly perfect world is filled with hatred for any thing that is not Vulcan. Even if one looks and acts like a Vulcan, if their blood is not pure, you treat them like an outcast. What is so logical about bigotry? If we are so great, why are we so unwilling to accept anyone different from us? Why even bother going out into space to explore and conduct relations with other races? Why not just sit here on this planet and fester in our self-righteousness?

"You say emotions will be the end of our people. I disagree. I feel that our close-mindedness will be what wipes us off the face of the universe. If you think me wrong, then prove it."

No words came from T'Pau's mouth for quite some time after Spock finished speaking. It was easy to see that she was still processing all that he said in her mind. She finally said after taking a deep breath, "Have Captain Kirk present tomorrow by high noon. If he is even a minute late, there shall be no wedding held for the two of you, not tomorrow or any day thereafter. We are willing to accept your marriage to the human, but only if you abide by our wishes. I would hope this would be the proof that you need."

She walked passed him and stopped at the door. She turned her head to the side and added, "You should consider leaving Starfleet and coming back home to your people Spock. You should be the one to lead us all into this new age you speak so adamantly of."

Sarek released his son and watched as he turned to the old Vulcan woman that stood in the doorway. Staring at her with a furrowed brow, Spock said, "What do you mean by that?"

T'Pau turned back around and faced Spock with an unusually fatigued look on her face. "Fight you as I may, you are correct about the Vulcan race," T'Pau said. "I wish for the words you speak to be untrue, but I cannot change their meaning any more than I can change the color of the sky. The ways of our people are indeed outdated. In light of current events, it is time that the Vulcan race follows a new set of teachings to reflect this new age we are entering. There is no easy way to transition to a life of harmony as opposed to the life of extremity we have led for so long, even before Surak.

"We cannot live without emotions, nor can we live without logic. However, out of all of us, you are the only one who has attempted to balance the two. You of all people would be the best choice to show us all how to do so."

"T'Pau," Spock said, his face wracked with emotion, "I wish I could say that I know how to balance the two well enough to share my wisdom with others, but I fear I am as of yet still unable to balance my two opposing sides. I may be much further down the path than other Vulcans, but I still have much to learn about myself."

"Then you would do well to hurry your life mate to New Vulcan so that you two may be wed," she said with the slightest of smiles. "If I am assuming correctly, he has been the source of your self-discovery."

Wordlessly, Spock nodded. T'Pau shook her head and let her smile grow just enough so that it was more noticeable. "Then a life with him by your side will help you along your way. When the time is right, I pray that you will come back to New Vulcan and educate us all in how to properly balance emotion with logic. Until tomorrow Spock, I shall take my leave."

She gave the Vulcan salute and left the room, not waiting for the three Vulcans to return the salute to her. Left alone in the room, Spock faced his father and his childhood friend. T'Maire smiled at him and said, "Well, looks like we better hop in my ship and go pick up your fiancé if you want him here in time. There's no way the Enterprise can make it here before high noon tomorrow."

"You are correct," Spock said with a smile. "I would not want to miss the look on his face when I tell him the good news."

* * *

"Married?!? Tomorrow?!?"

It was a good thing that Kirk's jaw was soundly attached to his head, because if it were not, it was likely that it would be rolling somewhere around his feet. Spock chose not to hide the wide grin that split his face in two. Just as he suspected, the look on Kirk's face was worth a thousand words. Behind him, T'Maire unsuccessfully stifled a giggle.

As soon as they set out for the Enterprise from New Vulcan, they chose a moon to meet somewhere in the middle of the distance between the colony and the ship's position at the time. Kirk was pleasantly surprised to see both Spock and T'Maire, but knowing that they had good news made it all worth it. They immediately went to Kirk's room after their arrival to talk in private.

Naturally, Kirk was thrilled at the news that the High Council was removing the redwood tree from their collective asses and allowing the remaining Vulcans to choose their own mates. It was doubly thrilling to find out they were allowing Kirk and Spock to get married despite their interracial pairing. The only thing that was jarring was the quickness in which they'd be required to be wed.

"Jesus, that's not very much notice for me," Kirk said. "I don't even think I'll have time for a bachelor party at this rate!"

Spock raised an eyebrow at Kirk. "A bachelor party?"

"Oh, right, you're not familiar with Earth marriage rituals," Kirk smirked. "A bachelor party is usually thrown before a wedding to give the groom one last chance to enjoy his life as a single man and prepare him to embrace his future life as a married man. It tends to be a night filled with alcohol and debauchery, but it's usually lots of fun."

"I see," Spock said. "I apologize that there will not be enough time for that."

"Hey!" T'Maire interjected. "Why not plan an Earth celebration for the wedding at a later date?"

Both Kirk and Spock gave T'Maire a curious look at her suggestion. She elaborated, "Look, it's great that the only way your marriage can be completely official is to have it held before the Vulcan High Council, but just because you have to rush into that doesn't mean you can't enjoy an Earth styled wedding as well! That way you can take your time planning all the fun stuff and make sure that everyone on the ship and in Starfleet can participate too, not to mention your family Jim!"

Kirk took a moment to think about the possibility of planning an Earth wedding of that size. It would take a lot of work; more than likely he'd need both Uhura's help and his mother's help to get everything put together for it. However, doing things that way would ensure that their marriage was enjoyable and memorable, not just for their friends, family, and colleagues, but also for themselves.

Smiling, Kirk said, "You know what T'Maire? That's a great idea! What do you think Spock?"

Spock nodded in approval. "The plan is quite logical. I have wanted to learn more about human mating rituals beyond bedroom habits. Having a human wedding would do much to assist me in that task. Additionally, it sounds as though it will be a pleasurable activity for all involved."

Kirk put an arm around Spock and hugged him. "That's the spirit! This will be great!"

"There is one additional concern that we should talk about before becoming overly elated Jim," Spock said. He removed Kirk's arm from around him and gave him a serious look. Kirk became a bit nervous at the change he sensed in Spock. Though he was outwardly calm, he could feel the jitteriness that was deep inside of him.

"The moment we are joined by Vulcan standards, we will be expected to…" He hesitated to finish his sentence. This wasn't something he was ready to announce, but it had to be said now. "We will be expected to start a family."

This was a moment that would have called for Kirk to faint had this been some cheesy TV sitcom from the late 20th century. Instead his mouth resumed its former position which would have allowed about a hundred flies to fly into had a swarm been nearby. His eyes had also not doubled, but tripled in size. T'Maire raised an eyebrow at Kirk and wondered how the human face could possibly become so disproportionate without lasting consequences. Kirk knew that his face would hurt the next day and prayed his mom was wrong about his face freezing like that.

Sighing, Spock closed his fiance's mouth for him, since it was obvious he wasn't going to close it himself anytime soon. "I am aware that the news is alarming," he said, "however these are the terms in which the entire colony will be allowed to choose their mates on their own. If these conditions are not met, all current engagement arrangements will be forever binding and any other marital unions will not be recognized."

Kirk closed his eyes tightly and reopened them. After several rapid blinks he said, "So basically as soon as we say I do, we start thinking of baby names?"

"Precisely," Spock responded. "Technically we are required to adopt a Vulcan orphan, but T'Maire has so graciously volunteered herself to become the surrogate mother for our child."

T'Maire smirked at the look Kirk gave her and said, "Don't look at me like that! We all know you and Spock aren't ready to start a family. I mean you're in the middle of a five year mission! Considering I'm on a Starfleet star base, I could easily birth a child and allow you guys to finish things up before tending to the youngster."

"Well, yeah, but…are you really willing to do that for us?"

She crossed her arms. "Do you think I'd offer this to just anyone? I could always let you two be stuck raising someone else's kid."

"No," Kirk said, raising his hands. "If you're willing to birth our child, then by all means do!"

He dropped his hands and exhaled. Looking at Spock, he said, "So, looks like you and I have some packing to do, huh?"

"Negative," Spock said. "There are special Vulcan robes for a bride and groom to be worn. In this case, there would of course be two distinguishing groom's robes. We will board T'Maire's ship and return to New Vulcan to have you fitted for one."

"You mean I got to wear some of that super heavy Vulcan attire you guys wear in over a hundred degree heat?" Spock nodded. Sighing, Kirk said, "Well, at least I won't need to be injected with tri-ox on this planet. If I had to worry about breathing _and_ not sweating my balls off during an alien marriage ritual, I'd probably develop a serious case of cold feet."

* * *

Kirk couldn't have been more nervous if he were standing in front of an execution squad. The elegant mustard yellow Vulcan robe that he wore felt more like a straight jacket than formal wear. Every five minutes he pulled at the collar even though the robe fit loosely around his neck. The weather on Vulcan could be compared to a late spring day in California, but by the way Kirk was sweating on would think he was standing in the Sahara Desert.

Considerably less nervous but still a bit shaky was Spock, who stood next to Kirk in a matching Vulcan robe in deep blue. Without even touching Kirk he could feel the nervousness radiating off of him, which only added to his own anxiety. He understood fully why Kirk was so nervous, but he couldn't have him performing the ceremony in his condition.

_Jim, please try to calm down._

_I'm trying, I'm trying! _Kirk cried mentally. _I'm just a little freaked out. What if I do something wrong? What if they suddenly change their minds about letting us get married? What if…_

Spock cut Kirk off. _All will be well my love. Do not dwell so much on 'what ifs'. You will only set yourself up for an error._

_That'd be a lot easier if we didn't have such a huge audience!_

For reasons that were left unexplained by the Council, their engagement and wedding were being held publicly before the colony. Though the entire colony was not in attendance, there was indeed a vast majority of them present. Spock had been blocking their presence out as much as possible, but he was having a great difficulty doing so now that Kirk had pointed them out.

_I am aware of the added stress of a large audience attending the ceremony Jim. However it is important that you try to remain calm in spite of that. Do not forget that you are not the only one who feels your nervousness._

Kirk took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. _You're right. I forgot you can feel my emotions through our bond. I'm sorry. I'll try and calm down._

Spock gave an approving nod as the gnawing nervousness eased some. The High Council filed into the room and took their seats above them. T'Pau as always was seated in the middle. She looked down at the two men and almost laughed at their nervousness. _So, they managed to get him here in time, _she thought. _Proof that they are indeed meant to be._

Her voice rang out from her seat and echoed throughout the building. "Captain James Tiberius Kirk and Xtmprszntwlfd S'chn T'gai Spock, you have come to us to legalize the life bond you have forged on your own."

Kirk's eyebrows rose on his forehead at the sound of Spock's full name. He resisted the urge to turn his head and aim a flustered look of surprise at him, but cast a look at him through his peripheral vision. Ever so faintly, the corner of Spock's mouth perked up in a hint of a smirk.

Returning his attention to the Council, Kirk said, "Yes ma'am, we have."

T'Pau gazed at Kirk and spoke, "Though it is usually our custom that a life bond be forged before the Council, we will make a special exception for the two of you. Considering that Spock's _pon farr _was prematurely triggered, your marriage has already been unofficially concreted, as only one's life mate can quell its effects. This is the first time in Vulcan history that two men have been legally joined together, and seeing as this is also an interracial marriage between two Starfleet officers, we shall allow your bond to be officially documented in our logs."

Bowing his head out of respect and thankfulness, he said, "You have our thanks."

From their left, a man in dark robes stepped onto the floor, a large metallic diamond with many small bells in his hand. Standing tall, he shook the diamond, releasing the clinks and jingles of the bells into the air for all to hear. Kirk was the only one who looked lost; all Vulcans in attendance knew exactly what was next to come.

Sarek and T'Maire rose from their seats in the crowd and walked over to Kirk and Spock on the floor. T'Pau rose from her seat and descended the stairs behind the platform the Council sat on. To either side of them, priestess came forward and laid cushions down before Kirk and Spock's feet. T'Pau walked in front of the two and motioned for them to kneel on the cushions. Spock moved to the side of the cushion in front of him and lowered himself onto it. Following his lead, Kirk also moved to the side of his cushion and kneeled on it so that his feet pointed straight out behind him and the rest of his body was upright.

T'Pau took a brief moment to study the faces of the two youths before her and smothered a smirk. Clearing her throat, she spoke to the entire colony. "What you are about to witness has been passed down from the days of old. We gather today to join these two men in holy matrimony. Their minds and their souls shall burn as one for all time."

Wordlessly, T'Pau motioned for the two to join hands in the traditional Vulcan way. Spock extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand out toward Kirk. Kirk raised his shaky hand and slowly extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand as well. When their fingers touched, it was as if an electric shock ran through both of their bodies. Though visible only to T'Pau, the two men both shuddered, Kirk more noticeably that Spock.

Clasping her hands together in front of her, she let the two men continue the ceremony from there, knowing that Spock was aware of what steps to take. Spock ran his finger tips up and over Kirk's, trailing them down his hand and bringing them back around to the front. When he did, a wave of love surged through him and into Kirk.

Kirk blinked in shock at the feeling this simple movement of Spock's fingers had created. _So this is what a true Vulcan marriage feels like…_ he thought to himself, guarding his thoughts from Spock. He looked deep into the Vulcan's eyes and felt as though he were seeing Spock's very soul.

Shakily, Kirk mirrored the movement of his fingers up and over Spock's fingers and around his hand so that their fingers touched once more. This time, a wave of love surged from him into Spock. Spock's eyes closed momentarily then opened again. His eyes shined with moisture, which sent an indescribable pang of emotion through to Kirk's heart. Kirk's own eyes grew moist as the tenderness of the moment sank in.

T'Pau motioned them to stand back up. When the two had risen to their feet and stepped over their cushions, their fingers still pressed together. T'Pau raised her hands and spoke some words in Vulcan. As she spoke the words, the colony before her bowed their heads respectively and closed their eyes. When their head rose once more, she then reverted back to Starfleet Common English and said, "From this day forth, Captain James Tiberius Kirk and Xtmprszntwlfd S'chn T'gai Spock are joined in holy matrimony. May their marriage be long and prosperous."

Kirk had expected the crowd of Vulcans to simply acknowledge their marriage and then quietly file out, but he was pleasantly startled by the uproar of applause that erupted. Each Vulcan in attendance, including the High Council, stood to their feet and extended their happiness for the new couple. Kirk and Spock turned to the crowd and bowed deeply. Still keeping their fingers together, they then turned to the Council and bowed even deeper.

When they stood up straight, they faced each other and smiled widely. It had been an unexpectedly long and arduous path that led them to that beautiful moment in time, but the trip down the road had been well worth it. Through their trials and tribulations, they proved that theirs was a true love that would stand the test of time. This was their shining moment, one that marked the true start of their lives.


	30. A New Life

**Ch 29: New Life**

"Jimmy!"

Kirk had just opened the gate to his mother's farmhouse in Iowa when she came running out to greet him. Behind him were Spock, T'Maire, Prime, and Sarek, who had accompanied him to meet Winona. Kirk was sure coming home with four Vulcans in tow would look weird, but it was infinitely better than the random female he used to bring home when he was younger.

The five of them had traveled to Earth using Sarek's ship, which while noticeably slower than T'Maire's ship, was easier to procure without stepping on anyone's toes. The Enterprise was still in the middle of a mission and asking them to dock at Earth solely for their sake was just a little too selfish. Kirk wasn't entirely comfortable with leaving things in Scotty's hands, but with McCoy and Uhura to help him out if things got rough spending a week away from the ship wasn't as worrisome as it could have been.

With arms open wide Kirk scooped his mother up in a tight hug and spun her around a couple of times. She squeezed tightly and giggled like a young girl as the world around her rotated. When her feet touched the ground again, she nuzzled her son's strong chest before stepping back to take a look at him.

"I'm so glad to see you!" she gushed. "The wedding preparations are going really well. You should see everything I've gotten done!"

She peeked behind Kirk and spotted the four Vulcans that rigidly stood in quiet observation (aside from T'Maire who was having trouble containing her own excitement). Instantly she recognized which was Spock, who was emanating an aura of awkward nervousness that disrupted his calm visage. The smile on her face grew to an almost disproportionate size when she recognized her future son-in-law.

"Spock!" she said as she walked over to him and wrapped him in a warm hug. Spock was taken aback at first by her enthusiastic welcome, but he caught himself fast enough to hug her back with only the slightest of hesitations. His hug was rigid until he heard her say, "So you're the wonderful man who has stolen my baby boy's heart. I'm happy that such a caring person is going to become my son-in-law."

These words seemed to be the magic words to break down Spock's defenses. He relaxed his arms and sank into the hug that she had given him not even five minutes after meeting him. _This must be where Jim gets the softer side of his personality,_ he thought to himself with a smile.

He straightened up and stepped back to look at the woman before him. Her hair was blond with hints of grey here and then. The few, sparse wrinkles on her face revealed that she had survived much hardship, but always found the opportunity to smile often. From their brief physical contact, he was able to deduce that it was not just his father that Kirk had drawn so much of his strength from, but also his mother.

"I appreciate your warm welcome Mrs. Kirk," he said formally.

With a laugh, Winona gently slapped Spock's arm and said, "There's no need to sound so formal, Spock! A week from now you're going to be marrying my son! Please, call me 'Mom'!"

Spock hesitated again and revealed his former nervousness. "I regret to say that I am not yet comfortable with calling you by such an informal address. Even when I have adjusted to being your son-in-law, I will only be capable of referring to you as 'mother'. I apologize if this is not to your liking, but I assure you that by calling you 'mother', I will be reflecting the utmost love and respect for you. Will this suffice?"

Winona simply blinked in response to Spock. Then without warning she bust out laughing and hugged him again. "You are too cute! It makes total sense why Jimmy fell in love with you now!"

Leaving the blushing Spock to soak in her words, she moved on to the other three behind her. Moving to Sarek, she said, "You're Spock's father I presume?"

Sarek nodded and said, "Yes, I am. I am Sarek."

She smiled warmly at Sarek and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Sarek. My name is Winona, but most of my family calls me Winny. If Spock is anything like you, it's probably safe to assume it'll be a long time before you call me Winny."

"If I ever do," Sarek said matter-of-factly.

Her smile became a smirk. "You will," she said. "Just give it time." She looked at Prime curiously and asked, "Are you Spock's grandfather?"

Prime's eyes lit up at the thought of being referred to Spock's grandfather. With the slightest of smiles, he replied, "You could say that. I am Surok. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Winona's head tilted to the side as she observed the elderly Vulcan. She took a step closer and said, "Why do I feel like I know you?"

Prime looked back at her and said, "Unknown. Spock gathers much of his personality from me; perhaps by getting to know Spock so well through Jim's communications, you have come to feel as if you know me as well?"

"Perhaps that's it." Winona smiled back. Something about him told her that there was more than he was letting on, but she decided to leave well enough alone for now.

Shifting her gaze to T'Maire, she smiled. "And you must be T'Maire. Jim's told me a lot about you."

T'Maire smirked at Kirk, who returned it with a falsely innocent expression and a shrug of his shoulders. "Hopefully all good things," she said. "Yes, I'm T'Maire. It's nice to meet you, Winona."

"The pleasure is all mine," Winona smiled. She turned to face everyone else and said, "Now, you all must come in. Sam has been cooking up a storm for hours preparing for your arrival and you all must be starving."

"Wait… Sam's here?" Kirk asked in surprise, excitement lighting up his face at the prospect of seeing his older brother; but just as quickly as the excitement appeared on his face, his brow furrowed in cautious suspicion. He knew for a fact that Sam would never show his face in their mother's house if her husband was present. "What about Frank?"

"Frank and I are no longer together." Winona said simply, avoiding Jim's eyes as she walked into the farm house. "It's a long story that will be told at another time when we haven't got so much planning to do!"

Kirk hated it when his mother did that. Whatever the reason was for her to split up with Frank, especially after what she said to him during his last visit, it had to be monumental. Technically she didn't have to answer his question considering she wasn't the one to bring it up, but it was still annoying to have a very valid concern dismissed until later.

He didn't have time to bemuse the strangeness of her divorce with Frank; as soon as he entered the farm house his legs were assaulted by his three significantly bigger nephews. They yelled out in unison, "_Uncle Jim!"_

Laughing, Kirk dropped to his knees and hugged his nephews. "Heya boys! Good to see ya!"

He leaned back and looked at the slightly less chubby cheeks of his nephews. Peter, the oldest, was a spitting image of his father, while his little brother Chris, the youngest, was an adorable male version of his mother with his father's eyes. The middle child, Thomas, was a hybrid of the two's genes with light brown hair, hazel eyes, his mother's nose and his father's smile.

"Jesus," Kirk breathed, "would you look at how you three have grown! Give it a few more years and you'll be beating up on your dear old dad!"

"Not bloody likely!" Sam said as he walked into the living room, wiping his hands on a wash cloth. He grinned at his brother and gave his customary greeting, "Hey, runt!"

"Hey, ugly!" He replied. Kirk laughed and ran to his brother, wrapping his arms around him. He squeezed as tightly as he could to show off his strength, but only managed to get pulled into a headlock and noogied.

Behind his brother he could see Aurelan struggling to get up from the kitchen table, her huge pregnant belly barely housed in the stretched fabric of the simple sun dress she wore. He wriggled out of Sam's grip and walked into the kitchen. Giving a low whistle he said, "Holy hell, Aurelan! You look like you're about to pop!"

"Don't I know it," she said with a laugh. "Why don't you make life easier for me and come give me a hug, huh?"

"Not sure that's a good idea!" Kirk chuckled. "If I hug you I might squeeze the baby out!"

Aurelan sighed in mock irritation. "I may be bigger than the farm house but I'm not made of porcelain! Now get over here and give me a hug!"

He smiled at his sister-in-law and obligingly gave her a gentle hug. She smacked him on the back and said, "Come on now, I know you can hug tighter than that! Don't be a wimp!"

Laughing, Kirk tightened his hug around Aurelan. He pulled back and took a good look at her. Shaking his head, he said, "You're positively radiant Aurelan, my dear. Even with a bun in the oven you're more beautiful than anyone else on Earth."

"Jeez," she said, rolling her eyes, "did you _really_ manage to find someone crazy enough to marry you with lines like _that?_"

He laced his arm with hers and led her into the living room. "Guess I'm a bit rusty, huh?"

"Your lines were never any good Jim, but they've gotten decidedly cheesier since you've been gone."

The two laughed as they returned to the living room. As if awaiting orders, his four Vulcan companions were rooted in place before the front door. T'Maire, of course, showed the most liveliness as she waved and giggled at the young boys, but the rest were clearly waiting to be introduced.

Raising his hands to motion towards each person, Kirk said, "Aurelan, Sam, boys, this is my Vulcan family-to-be. Spock and his father Sarek, Surok, and T'Maire."

Aurelan left Kirk side and looked at Spock fondly. "Well," she said in a flirty tone, "I can't say I'm surprised you picked such a looker, Jim!"

"Yeah," Sam said, ribbing his brother with his elbow. "Too bad he's stuck with an ugly mug like yours!"

"Aw shut it!" Kirk laughed.

Straightening his back, Spock said, "It is a pleasure to meet you all, my future family."

Chris tugged on Spock's pants leg and asked with genuine curiosity, "Mr. Spock? Why do you have pointy ears?"

Spock was about to answer when Sam scolded, "Christopher! You don't ask people questions like that!"

Spock looked back at Sam completely unscathed by the young boy's question. "It is quite alright," he said. "Christopher's question is not offensive to me. He is simply making an observation about my appearance and questioning why it is different than his. Such inquiries are normal for a human child of his age."

Sam raised an eyebrow at Spock and then laughed. "You say that now, but when he asks you a hundred questions you might feel differently."

Before Spock could respond, Winona's voice called from the kitchen. "Sam! The food is ready! We should get everything served up while it's still hot!"

"Excuse me!" Sam turned quickly and ran into the kitchen. Everyone left in the living room made their way to the dining room and sat themselves around the table. Since there were guests, it had been stretched out from its normal round state to form a longer table with rounded ends. Each place had already been set for everyone long before they arrived, so all that needed to be done was to wait for the food to be served.

Sam and Winona came from the kitchen with two trays. Sam's tray had two large plates, one with pieces of roast chicken, the other had stuffed eggplants. Winona's tray had a large bowl of salad, a large bowl of steamed carrots and broccoli, and a bottle of salad dressing. They placed the trays of food in the center of the table and took their seats, Sam between Aurelan and Peter, Winona between Kirk and Prime.

The boys sneered at the vegetables their parents piled onto their plate and made sure to delay their inevitable consumption of them as much as possible. It was not until the threat of no dessert that they finally began nibbling slowly on them. The Vulcans enjoyed the stuffed eggplants very much, which were rich with flavor with a nice texture. Aurelan winced repeatedly during the dinner, but assured everyone that she was fine and that the baby was just a little lively.

Kirk and Spock told stories of their adventures on the Enterprise, much to the joy of the three boys. They had to reword certain things to keep the subject matter kid friendly, but their stories were enjoyed by everyone in attendance. T'Maire joined in on the story telling with her own tales from her star base. Before long even Sarek and Prime were telling stories of there own.

The room was filled with laughter and smiles, the kind of which Kirk had come to miss greatly during his time on the Enterprise. It wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy sailing through the stars, but when there were lulls in their travels he found himself longing to be home sitting around the table just as he was then.

He looked over at Spock to see if he was enjoying himself and was pleased to see that the young Vulcan was smiling as well, albeit rather conservatively. Spock looked back at Kirk and allowed himself a bigger smile to show that his previous nervousness had melted away. Kirk's family made him feel quite welcome in their home and he was feeling more at ease about becoming part of their family.

When the boys finally finished off their vegetables, the table was cleared of the dirty dishes and empty food bowls. With a big grin on her face, Winona returned from the kitchen with her 'world famous' blueberry cobbler. The look on Kirk's face was comparable to the three young boys when he saw his mom walk in with his favorite dessert.

Bringing up the rear with plates and fresh silverware, Sam gave each person their own plate. When he reached Kirk, the plate he placed in front of him was much larger than anyone else's. He winked at his kid brother and said, "I know how much you love mom's cobbler, Jim."

"Sam, you're a prince among men," Kirk gushed.

Slowly the cobbler was distributed around the table. Kirk received the baking dish filled with warm gooey cobbler last and scooped the rest of it onto his plate. Winona laughed at her son and said, "Good thing everyone else got a healthy serving of it before you got a hold of it!"

Smirking, Kirk scooped a large spoonful of the cobbler into his mouth and savored it with eyes closed. At that moment he could care less whether or not anyone else enjoyed the cobbler; he had finally been reunited with his first love. After eating replicated blueberry cobbler for the last two years, it was plain to see that nothing would ever come close to his mother's blueberry cobbler.

Spock cut an eye at his enraptured fiancé after taking a bite of the cobbler himself and said, "You were right Jim. This blueberry cobbler is as you would say 'to die for'. It is expertly baked at the right temperature to create a pleasant texture without being overly hot." Turning to Winona, he added, "My compliments to the chef."

"He's right!" T'Maire said. "I've never had a desert this delicious before! What's your secret? Do you put anything special in it?"

"Love," Kirk and Winona said in unison. Winona laughed at her son who gave her a goofy grin in response. "That's all I add to it," she said. "Just love, care, and attention."

"Those are the magical ingredients to my mother's blueberry cobbler," Kirk said, wiggling his fingers at his blueberry faced nephews. They giggled in response and continued to shovel the sticky goodness into their mouths. "That's why replicated blueberry cobbler will _never_ replace hers!"

There wasn't much time to chat over dessert as their servings were quickly devoured. As Sam and Winona cleared the table, everyone else rose from their seats and moved to the living room (except for the boys, who were corralled into the bathroom by their mother to clean the blueberry goo from their hands and faces).

"That was a fine dinner," Prime said to Kirk. "Your mother and brother are excellent cooks."

Kirk smirked in response as he sat next to Spock on the couch. "Yeah, they sure are. My childhood was a bit rough, but having good home cooking was always a high point."

A small mew came from behind the couch Kirk and Spock sat on. A kitten with gray, silver, and black fur striped much like a tiger hopped onto the arm of the couch and tottered into Kirk's lap.

"Hey, who's this?" Kirk raised his hand and stroked the kitten's back, eliciting a purr from it.

"Jinxi!" Sam said with a smile. "Kismet had kittens about two months ago."

When Spock raised an eyebrow at him, Kirk explained, "Spock, this is Jinxi, one of the family cat's kittens."

As if on cue, Jinxi walked from Kirk's lap onto Spock's and nuzzled his chest. Spock mirrored Kirk and stroked the kitten's back gently. Jinxi purred twice as loud as she did when Kirk pet her.

Spock picked the kitten up and looked at it up close. The kitten licked his chin and nuzzled his face. "Looks like she likes you," Kirk mused as he watched Spock interact with Jinxi. "Can't say I blame her. Looks like you've got a fondness for cats as well."

Blushing ever so slightly, Spock said coolly, "I do not know what it is you are referring to. I simply get along well with feline creatures. You noticed that on Kalthoria with the Felisians."

"Yeah," Kirk agreed. "I also noticed that I was next to invisible whenever we were around them. You almost seemed godlike to them."

Spock simply raised a playful eyebrow at his fiancé and proceeded to covertly nuzzle the kitten, much to its delight. In return, it batted its tiny paw against Spock's nose.

The three boys ran into the living room and piled onto the couch around T'Maire as their mother shuffled in behind them. The moment their rears landed on the couch, they assaulted T'Maire with a thousand questions.

"Are there any kids on your star base?"  
"Do you get to fight bad guys?"  
"Why do you wear so much make up?"  
"Do you like the color green?"  
"Do you hear better with pointy ears?"

T'Maire stared at the little boys with her mouth gaping, unsure of what question to answer first. She looked up at Aurelan with a helpless look on her face. Aurelan smiled apologetically at T'Maire and said, "Sorry, they're all at that age where the moment they see something new they ask a million questions about it."

"Its fine," T'Maire replied with a smile. "I just don't know whose question to begin with!"

"Ahh!!" Aurelan suddenly hunched over and held onto her stomach. Sam immediately rushed over to her side from the kitchen and grasped her shoulders from behind.

"Honey? Are you okay?"

All Aurelan could do was shake her head and gasp for air. Sam put a hand on her face and turned it so that she was looking at him. Face laced with concern, he asked, "Is it time?"

The fluid that dripped down her leg onto the floor was more than enough answer for him, but she managed to cry out, "Yes! My water broke!"

It was as if a fire had been lit underneath everyone's rear when Aurelan announced that she had gone into labor. The plate in Winona's hands would have surely broken had she not dropped it into the soapy water in the sink. T'Maire gasped from her seat on the couch while Spock shot straight up, leaving the confused kitten on the couch, and walked over to her along with Kirk, Sarek, and Prime.

The children looked on in frightful confusion. "What's wrong with Mommy?" Chris asked, his eyes wide with worry.

T'Maire looked at the youngest boy and said, "Your mommy's getting ready to bring your little sister into the world. She's about to give birth."

Chris' eyes grew in wonder. "You mean it's time for our baby sister to come out?"

"Yup," Peter said. "Now you won't be the youngest anymore."

"Jim!" Sam exclaimed. "I need you to run upstairs and get the duffel bag that's on the bed in my room!"

"Got it!" Fast as lightning, Kirk zoomed up the stairs to his brother's room.

Sam faced Spock and said, "Spock, in the hall closet is a brown leather jacket. Grab the keys in the front right pocket of it!"

"Understood," Spock said as he swiftly turned and walked to the hall closet. Unlike Kirk, he knew how to be quick without being frantic.

Kirk came bounding down the stairs with a duffel bag filled with clothes and other essentials and handed it off to Sam, who had just made it outside with a moaning Aurelan. Winona helped Aurelan into the front seat while Sam put the bag into the back. Spock wasn't far behind Kirk with the keys to Sam's car in his hand.

Sam turned to Spock and said, "I'll be riding with mom to the hospital. You and Jim can ride in my car."

"What about everyone one else?" Kirk asked. "Your car has enough room for everyone."

"The hospital is only going to allow immediate family to visit her while she's in labor," Sam answered. "Since Spock is your spouse they'll allow him, but Sarek, Surok, and T'Maire need to stay behind. Technically we could take the boys, but they're going to be so excited I doubt they could stay put for long and this isn't going to be a short process."

Spock furrowed his brow and asked, "If we are not bringing anyone else with us, should we not travel in your vehicle instead of in Mrs. Kirk's truck?"

Sam was about to agree with the Vulcan when he heard his wife howl from the back of the truck. Winona poked her head out of the window from the front seat and yelled, "What are you waiting for Sam? Get in!"

"Your logic is sound Spock but right now we just need to get her to the hospital as soon as we can!" Sam ran to the passenger side of the truck and hopped in. Winona turned the ignition and the truck roared to life. Sam poked his head out her window and yelled, "We'll meet you at the hospital! Tell the boys their mom will be fine and not to worry!"

The truck backed out of the driveway quickly and zoomed off in a cloud of dust. Kirk and Spock watched as they drove off in silence. Still looking at the truck as it disappeared into the distance, Spock said, "Do humans usually behave this illogically when a woman goes into labor?"

Sighing, Kirk said, "Yep." He put a hand on Spock's shoulder and turned him back toward the farm house. "Come on, let's tell them what's going on and head out to the hospital."

* * *

One would think that after years and years of medical advancement in the human race that there would be a way to calm the father of a pregnant woman in labor. Sadly, aside from sedating him, there was no other way to quell Sam's nerves. For two hours straight he paced back and forth in the waiting room with his family, babbling nervously.

"Why won't they let me in? I'm her husband; I should be by her side! They let me be by her side when the boys were born! Oh God, what if something's going wrong? What if the baby's in distress? God, I need to be in there! Why won't they let me be in there?"

"Perhaps they are refusing to let you be inside with her because your temperament is unstable," Spock explained matter-of-factly.

"Unstable? What are you talking about? I'm perfectly stable! This is my fourth child! I know how things work with this! I just don't understand why they won't let me in! Something _has _to be wrong if they won't let me be in there with her!

"Maybe her normal obstetrician isn't there. Maybe it's some other random doctor that doesn't believe the father should be present! I bet it's some feminist nut that thinks the father should be left in the dark until the baby is born! My God this is the 23rd century! Thinking like that is from ancient times! I need to be there by her side! _Why won't they let me inside?!?_"

The door to the delivery room opened and a petite woman walked out. She stood before Sam and asked, "Sir, are you Mr. Kirk?"

"Yes! Yes I am! How is my wife? Has the baby been delivered?"

"No, the baby hasn't been delivered yet. We had some trouble getting her dilated enough for her to begin pushing the baby out, but she's fully dilated now. You can come in to help her if you'd like."

Sam immediately went for the door without waiting for the woman to follow him. The nurse looked at Kirk, Winona and Spock with her eyebrows raised and followed him in, leaving the doors to hiss shut on their own.

"I hope she's okay." Kirk said, resting his elbows on his knees.

"She'll be fine, Jimmy." Winona said with a reassuring smile. "Just think. You two are going to be uncles to a beautiful baby girl."

"It is a fascinating prospect." Spock mused, a small smile on his face as Jim sat up and leaned against his shoulder, trying to get comfortable on the hard plastic waiting room chairs. "Having trouble getting comfortable, Jim?"

"You'd think after centuries of hospitals being around, they'd invent some sort of comfortable chair for people to sit on while they're waiting for stuff like this." Kirk murmured, closing his eyes as he rested his head against Spock's shoulder. Spock stayed silent and stroked the blond man's hair gently.

"Mmmm…" Kirk mumbled. "Don't…"

"Why not?" Spock asked.

"I'll fall asleep." Kirk said with a small smirk. "Not really the best thing to do in a hospital waiting room."

Three hours passed before they heard anything. Winona had fallen asleep against Kirk's shoulder, her feet tucked up underneath her. Kirk and Spock were talking quietly about Kirk's family and how welcoming they all were. Suddenly, the door hissed open and Sam stumbled out, the smile on his face radiating more light than the sun. Winona's eyes shot open and she looked at her oldest son.

"Well?"

"Aurelan and the baby are fine." Sam said, the grin on his face not moving one iota. "They've just taken the baby to bath her."

"Good to hear. Does she have a name or are you just gonna keep calling her 'the baby'?" Kirk asked, standing up and looking at his brother.

"Her name is Jacqueline Isabella Winona Kirk." Sam smiled. Winona gave a little cry and leapt off the chair to fling her arms around her son's neck. "We though it was only right she get named after both her grandmothers."

"An excellent choice of name." Spock said with a nod.

"And one hell of a mouthful," Kirk said with a smirk. "So, when do we get to meet her?" he asked suddenly. Laughing, Sam motioned the three of them to follow him.

The scene behind the doors of Aurelan's room was touching. Sam and Winona had seen it three times before, but it didn't change the beauty of the moment. Aurelan lay in her bed with the newborn Jacqueline cradled in her arms. The light above her cast a soft glow on the two that called to mind the story of the baby Jesus born in a manger.

When Aurelan looked at the four people who walked into the room, she gave a tired smile. "Hey," she breathed. Her face still glowed from the strain of bringing her daughter into the world. Though her eyes were half closed out of exhaustion, they sparkled with Joy.

Winona made it to her daughter-in-law's side first and gaze at the baby in her arms. "Oh," she cooed, "she's adorable. She looks just like you! May I hold her?"

"Of course," Aurelan smiled.

Jacqueline was carefully handed over to her grandmother, who held her close and smiled. "Hey there little one! I'm your grammy! You're such a beautiful little girl. Grammy's going to enjoy spoiling you rotten!"

"Jeez mom, don't spoil _another_ one of our kids!" Sam said. "We're still dealing with the last three you spoiled!"

Winona laughed. "No dice Sam. I finally have a granddaughter! I'm going to spoil her extra!"

She looked up at her son who was gazing affectionately at the little girl his mother held. With a smile, she walked over to him and handed Jacqueline over to him. "Here sweetheart, say hi to your niece."

Kirk cradled Jacqueline in his arms and looked down at her. Somewhere inside his heart he felt something different stir. It wasn't a familiar feeling, but he knew exactly what it was. He had heard of a biological clock that begins to tick once a person reaches a certain point in their life, but he always blew it off, thinking it wasn't something he'd ever feel.

He looked at Spock and smiled. He also never thought he'd settle down, let alone with a guy, and _especially_ not a Vulcan. Nonetheless, there he was, standing next to his Vulcan spouse holding his baby niece and thinking about the future family he and Spock would have.

It should have surprised him that he felt the way he did, but it still did. He had always seen himself as a wild man who would spend his life flitting from girl to girl, getting what he could from them and then leaving when he was done. In his mind there would be no wonderful spouse that he'd grow old with, just the constant loving and leaving of women and the adventures of life speeding him toward his inevitable lonesome end. Was this the man his other self had lived to be?

The beautiful blue eyes of his niece distracted him from his inner thoughts. During the time she spent in his arms, she had decided to open her eyes and look out at the world around her. The breath in his lungs caught in his throat; there was something about looking into the eyes of a new life that seems magical.

Wordlessly, he raised his right hand and stroked her face with his index finger. Spock drew closer to him and observed his interactions with the small human girl. Unexpectedly, Jacqueline reached out with her tiny hand and grabbed onto Kirk's finger. The feeling of her soft hand on his finger made Kirk's heart skip a beat. His cheeks grew warm and a goofy grin spread on his face.

"Aww, looks like love at first sight," Sam joked. "Don't pull your lady killer tricks on her Jim; she deserves better than you. Plus I don't think Spock would care too much for it."

"Oh ha ha," Kirk said. He looked up at Spock and saw the same longing stare he had worn on his face when his mother held the baby. "Here Spock," he said as he handed her over to the curious Vulcan. "Hold her for a little bit. I'm sure you'll find her very 'fascinating'."

Spock looked down at Jacqueline and noticed that her demeanor changed slightly when he held her in his arms. Though she was already quite relaxed, the warmth of his embrace seemed to sooth her. She gazed up at him with eyes that seemed to run in her family and gently grasped the front of his shirt in her tiny fist.

He extended his finger to release her grip on his shirt and was able to experience some of what she felt. There was a great deal of wonder at the many things she saw, but it seemed that she found Spock the most interesting of all the new things she had seen and felt thus far. For what it was worth, she liked him. Not as much as she liked her family, which even as young as she was she could tell the difference between, but still very much so.

Gently, he extended his own developing feelings of love for the child and marveled at the closest thing to a smile a newborn infant could muster after being alive for mere minutes. Having spent what little energy she had in her, she nodded off and fell asleep in the Vulcan's warm arms.

Everyone in the room had watched their interaction in silence, but all in attendance had a warm smile on their face. Spock noticed these smiles after Jacqueline had fallen asleep and couldn't prevent the blood from rushing to his face. Carefully he walked over to Aurelan and handed the baby back to her. In a low voice, he said, "It seems your daughter likes me."

"Then it seems she already has good taste in men," Aurelan said with a smile. Spock's ears turned green in response to her comment much to everyone's amusement.

"Alright guys, I gotta send you out so Aurelan and Jacqueline can get some rest." He put his hand out and looked at his brother. "Jim, I know you dig my ride and all, but I'll need my keys back."

Laughing, Kirk pulled the keys out of his jeans and handed them to his brother. "Trust me Sam; you can keep 'your ride'. Station wagons aren't really my style."

"Wait till you have kids. You'll change your story then." Taking the keys from Kirk, he pulled him into a hug. "I'll see you back at the house, alright? Tell the boys their sister Jackie will be home to meet them in a day or two."

"Will do." He moved out of the way so his mother could give Sam a hug as well. Spock didn't move to give Sam a hug, but the two exchanged nods before they left the room.

They walked out of the hospital and piled into Winona's truck in the parking lot. She turned the ignition and the old heap rattled to life. As they drove out of the parking lot and back on the road toward her house, she said, "So boys, now that you've seen what it's like to bring a new life into the world, are you excited about starting your own family?"

Kirk and Spock exchanged looks and shared their emotions through their link. Smiling at his mom, Kirk said, "Yeah, I think we are."


	31. Reflections

**Ch 30: Reflections**

The expected flurry of questions from the three curious and likely worried little boys never came when Kirk, Spock, and Winona arrived at the farm house. Instead they were welcomed by the sight of three sleeping boys and three sleeping Vulcans. T'Maire, who had allowed herself to sleep but did so lightly, heard their entrance despite their attempt to be silent. She looked up through half closed eyes, her arms around the boys who used her as a pillow, and smiled.

"Hey guys," she said groggily. "Has baby sister been delivered?"

Winona gave an equally sleepy smile and replied, "Yes, baby Jacqueline is alive and well. She's resting with her mom and dad at the hospital. They should come back home in another day or so. Were the boys any trouble?"

T'Maire shook her head slowly. "They were no trouble at all. They were so excited about their baby sister all they could do was to ask a ton of questions about her. About an hour after you left they burned themselves out."

Winona turned to Kirk and Spock and asked, "Could you guys help me get the boys to bed?"

Both giving her a nod, they moved to either side of T'Maire and gently picked the boys up. Chris roused from his sleep as Winona picked him up and mumbled, "Where's Daddy?"

"He's at the hospital with your mommy and your new sister Jackie," Winona answered.

"But who will go to sleep with me?"

"You can sleep with me if you like sweetheart."

"Noooo, I wanna sleep with Miss T'Maaaire," Chris whined.

Winona and T'Maire exchanged looks and laughed quietly. T'Maire rose from her spot on the couch and took the sleepy boy out of her arms. "Guess I'm more popular than I thought," she mused.

"Looks like it. Follow Jim up the stairs to Sam's room. The bed should be big enough for you and the boys. I'll bring some extra blankets and pillows up to you when I get Surok and Sarek settled."

T'Maire nodded and followed Kirk up the stairs, Spock not far behind her. Winona looked over at Sarek and Prime and debated whether waking them would even be necessary as they looked comfortable enough in the chairs. In the end she decided that she would be a good hostess and show them both to the spare bed room that had been set up with beds for them.

She walked over to Prime and gently shook him awake. He looked at her through heavy lidded eyes and muttered, "I assume the delivery went well?"

"Yes," Winona said. "Sam and Aurelan are still at the hospital with their new baby girl. Come on. Let me show you to the spare bedroom."

Prime rose from the chair slowly and followed Winona to a room in the back of the house, where three small beds were prepared for him, T'Maire, and Sarek. He turned to her and said, "Thank you, I will be fine from here."

She nodded at the elderly Vulcan and made her way back to the living room. To her surprise, Sarek was wide awake and sitting up straight in the chair. Startled, she said, "Sarek! I thought you were asleep! I do hope we didn't wake you up while we were moving around."

"You did not," Sarek said. "I sensed your presence and woke myself up."

"Ah," Winona said with a sigh of relief. "Well that saves me the trouble of waking you up then! I'll show you to the guest room…"

"Now is not the time," he interrupted. "I wish to have a word with you."

She blinked at his frank manner of speaking. Of course, this was simply the way Vulcans spoke, but she was not used to it by any means. She watched as he rose from his chair and stood in front of her. His face betraying nothing of what he felt or what his intent was, he simply stated, "I have yet to see the land your home was built on. If you would please show me around, it will make speaking with you much easier."

"Alright," Winona said. "If that's what you want."

Winona led Sarek out of the house and began showing him around the farm. She noticed that he shook ever so slightly from the chill morning air, but said nothing about it. She showed him the barn, the stable, and the garden she grew in the back of the house. After the basics were shown, she began leading him further out onto the property, showing him the space that the animals grazed in and led him to a stream on the outskirts of her land.

It was when they reached the stream that Sarek finally began discussing things with her. "The reason you and your husband have divorced directly coincides with the human wedding ceremony for Jim and Spock."

She hesitated to respond, but after a deep shaky breath she replied, "Yes, that's exactly why."

"Is it safe to assume that he was displeased that his step-son was marrying a male?"

Winona closed her eyes. "You don't know the half of it."

Sarek looked at Winona quizzically. "You do not wish to speak of it with me."

"It's not that," Winona said, turning away. Something about the Vulcan's calm visage made her feel even more ill at ease about the subject than she already did. "It's just painful. He's always been a thorn in my children's sides, but he kept me from feeling lonely. Our relationship was far from perfect, but he filled the hole that my husband left me when he died. The fact that he…"

Her voice cracked as a lump formed in her throat. She still wasn't over it. As much as she hated him, she missed having someone always there with her. Even so, she didn't like being torn between her sons and her husband.

"If it is too painful to speak of, there is another way to tell me," Sarek said. "It is called the Vulcan mind meld. We do not typically use it freely or often with strangers, but considering the traumatic nature of your experience, it may be easier than talking about it. I must warn you that by reaching into your mind for the memory, the emotions of the memory will resurface in full. If this is acceptable, I can perform it."

Again Winona hesitated. She was already feeling emotional about the memory as she recalled it in her own mind. Was she ready to completely revisit the entire scene?

She drew a deep breath. If she was going to tell her son about it, she'd have to be ready to face it again. She'd have to deal with his emotions when she told him and couldn't afford to deal with hers at the same time. This could be like an alien form of therapy, allowing the father of her son-in-law to see into her mind and replay that painful incident again.

Facing Sarek, she said, "Do it. It'll be better and easier this way."

Sarek nodded and withdrew his hand from the long sleeves of his robes. Carefully he placed his fingers on her face and said, "Close your eyes and calm yourself. Breathe deeply. You will feel my presence in your mind."

When Winona's eyes closed, Sarek closed his as well and began to chant. "My mind…to your mind… My thoughts…to your thoughts… Our thoughts together…our minds are one." He paused as he saw her physically react to the mental connection. He spoke calmly and slowly. "Now think back to the discussion you had with your ex-husband that led to your divorce."

Eyes still closed, she spoke as if in a trance. "It happened a month after Jim told me the news about the wedding on Vulcan…"

Behind her closed eyes, the scene played before her as if she were a spectator.

_The fireplace crackled in the background while Frank stared blankly at the television screen before him. He was in his usual grubby pajamas and flannel robe drinking a cup of bitter black coffee. Winona hadn't been entirely fond of having a television in her house; to her it was a horrid waste of time that distracted from the real work that needed to be done day to day. Of course, Frank's refusal to live in her house without the presence of a television convinced her to allow it for his sake only. Her sons had never been allowed to watch it, not because she forbade it, but because Frank did._

_Given Winona's pre-existing hatred for the television, seeing her husband slumped in his favorite chair in his pajamas when he needed to be ready to leave the house put her off. "Frank!" Winona said in a disdainful voice. "We need to get you fitted for a tuxedo today! Why aren't you dressed?"_

_"'Cuz I never agreed to go to this damned wedding, that's why," he retorted without looking away from the screen._

_Hands on her hips, she marched over to the television and promptly turned it off. The trance Frank had been in while watching the television broke instantly. "What the hell are ya doin' woman?"_

_"Franklin S. Marshall, you will get up from that chair and get dressed right now so we can get you fitted for your tuxedo!"_

_"Don't talk to me like I'm some boy Winny!" Frank said as he jabbed a sausage-like finger at her. "I ain't goin' to no wedding! I didn't go to Sam's wedding with that baby maker of his and I ain't goin' to your faggot son's wedding either!" _

_Winona's eyes flashed red for a moment. If it was one thing she didn't take kindly to, it was having her sons be put down. Frank had done far more than his fair share of ripping on her children over the years and she was at the end of her tolerance rope. Her eyes narrowed, she said, "I dare you to say that again." _

_Frank stepped forward and unnecessarily stretched his body to tower over the already shorter woman before him. Dropping his voice down low, he said, "You heard me. I ain't going to that faggot son of yours' wedding! You should be ashamed that your son likes to take it in the ass, but you loved his poofter father so damned much you probably allow it to make yourself feel better about him dying."_

_He laughed cruelly at her, noticing the rage and sadness that was welling up in her eyes. "Guess the real reason he killed himself wasn't to save your life, it was because he knew his son would be a fairy just like he was. Couldn't stand the fact that between his newborn faggot son and the whiny bitch you gave birth to before him he couldn't bring a real man into the world."_

_A woman in Winona's situation would usually slap someone for saying such things, but being the country bred woman she was, a closed fist was what she used to strike Frank in the nose. His head snapped back as soon as her fist collided with it. His hand moved to the already swelling nose and pulled back with blood on his fingertips. Like a bull seeing red, he backhanded Winona onto the floor. _

_Body crumpled and tears streaming down her sobbing face, she tried began to crawl away from Frank. Smirking above her, he said, "I told you about hitting me woman. This time you actually had the gall to punch me. I'll see to it you don't even punch me again."_

_Winona reached her target against the wall, a handmade sculpture she had made not long after her husband had died. It was one of the few things she was permitted to keep out in the open from before she married Frank. She clutched onto it and remembered how she once was before she met him. She had changed for the worse since she fell in love with Frank. It was time to correct that._

_Using all her strength, she swung the solid sculpture like a bat and made contact with Frank's leg. Frank howled in agony as he reached for his leg, bouncing on his good one. Winona took his imbalance as a chance to further her attack. Using the sculpture she had just used as a weapon as a crutch, she came back up from the floor and punched him again in the face. Frank flew backwards onto the floor from the impact of the blow. _

_When he flipped onto his back and looked up, the fury that he witnessed on Winona's face was that of a woman who allowed herself to be belittled and abused for too long. Winona looked down at the worthless man below her who only knew how to make himself feel better by putting others down and gave the same cruel smile he had given her before raising her foot and slamming it down between his legs._

_Frank screeched as his manhood became a pancake underneath Winona's heel. She was now quite happy she had picked pumps to wear that morning. With a sneer, she said, "So, do you feel more like a man now that you've put down everything I've ever loved? Do you? Do you feel more like a man after hitting me for seventeen. Long. Years?!?"_

_With each word, she lifted her foot back up and slammed it back down on Frank's groin, causing a higher and higher pitched scream with each stomp. Digging her heel in, she huffed, "You are a blight on my life. I don't know why I ever thought that being with scum like you was better than being alone! I want you out of my house right now! And don't you dare try and bring a posse back to claim revenge because half the town already knows the truth about you! All I have to do is say a single word and you'll have so many damned shotguns aimed at your head it'll make your eyes bleed!"_

_Frank struggled to catch his breath. "Bu-but my stuff…what about my stuff?!?"_

_She grinded his groin again and said through gritted teeth, "Everything you own will be sent to that bar you frequent so much. I'll call ahead so Jacob knows to expect the junk pile that will be delivered this evening, along with official divorce papers."_

_With a final push, she removed her foot and held the sculpture like a bat once more. "Now get out of my house before I make your ugly face even uglier."_

_Giving a frightful nod, Frank tried to stand, but the sharp pain in his leg protested. He gave Winona the look of an injured puppy, but she was unfazed. "Winny…" he begged with arms open._

_"You don't deserve to call me 'Winny' ever again," she snarled, pulling the statue back as if to hit him._

_He winced and covered his head. "Okay, okay, Winona!" When she eased up on the statue, he lowered his arms. "Winona, you got me good. I can't even walk. Surely you could give me a ride to the bar at least! It's ten miles on foot!"_

_"You're a man, walk the pain off," she said coldly. "It's the least you deserve for running my children off and making them treat their home like it's cursed!"_

_Slumping in defeat, Frank limped his way to the front door and out of the house. She followed him to the doorway and stood with the statue still in hand, waiting for him to keep walking until he was out of sight. When the last bit of adrenaline she had been acting on fizzled, her legs gave out from underneath her. Dropping the sculpture, she covered her face in her hands and sobbed loudly._

When the mind meld ended, Winona's face was wet with tears and her mouth hung loosely open. Though she had closed her eyes at the start of the meld, her eyes stared blankly out into space. With a shaky hand she covered her mouth to hold in the sobs that she was letting out. Sarek opened his eyes and slowly withdrew his hand. In a somber tone, he said, "My apologies for bringing such a painful memory to the surface."

Closing her eyes once more, she leaned forward into Sarek's chest and cried openly. Having felt her pain and being experienced with comforting a human woman, he put his arms around her and gently held her as she cried. Holding her in his arms only reminded him of the wife he had lost long before he had expected to, but he easily contained his own sadness so that he could comfort Winona.

"You are better off without a man such as him," Sarek said in a soothing tone. "It was made clear to me that his sole reason for marrying you was to have someone take care of him and do his bidding. For a human, such a life is unacceptable. You deserve better."

"I know," Winona sobbed in his chest. "I just hate that I let him treat me that way for so long!"

"You wanted companionship," Sarek reasoned.

"I could have gotten a dog for that! I let him beat me and push me around and dictate my life! I'm surprised the boys can even look at me for what I put them through!"

"You wanted them to have a father figure."

"It wasn't worth it! None of it, the bruises I had to hide, the way he treated Sam and Jim, all those years I threw away, none of it!"

Sarek grabbed Winona by the shoulders and pulled her back. She stared up at him with eyes full of sorrow and remorse for her decisions. For a moment a vision of his own late wife flashed before him. Pushing the thought away, he said, "You have had long enough to repent for your decisions. You know you made them with the best of intentions and in the end your children still grew up to be prosperous and happy. They still love you dearly in spite of the choices you made. Instead of lamenting the past, look forward to the future you and your family will have together now."

Winona stared at Sarek in stunned silence for a moment before wiping her face clean. She nodded at him and said, "You're right. Of course you're right, you're a Vulcan! I'm being stupid tearing myself up like this. The boys are happier now that Frank is gone and so am I. I spent so much time being afraid to be alone that I made us all miserable just to avoid it. I'm able to go back to being myself now and the boys are entitled to that far more than I am. Sam's got a family and Jim's staring one of his own. They need their mother to be at her best and I'm my best without Frank."

"That you are," Sarek agreed.

She looked at Sarek and said, "What was it that made you react so poorly to Jim and Spock being together, aside from their secrecy about it, Jim being a human male, and the whole ponferthing of course?"

"_Pon farr,_" Sarek corrected. "I am embarrassed to say that part of my contempt for their relationship, aside from those reasons you mentioned, were rooted in your son's reputation."

As he expected, Winona raised an eyebrow at him. "You cannot place blame on me for being concerned that my son was merely another addition to your son's expansive number of conquests. Given their secrecy about their relationship, it was easy for me to conclude that their relationship was completely physical."

"So in other words, you were worried your son would get hurt."

Sarek looked at Winona with a blank look on his face. "Spock may be half human, but he exhibits Vulcan behaviors and emotional patterns. He would not let something of the sort hurt him. However their relationship also threatened their careers, so naturally I was looking out for my son's future."

"But if he got kicked out of Starfleet he could have gone back to New Vulcan to help you and the other Vulcans, which was more of what you wanted in the first place, correct?"

Silence hung in the chill night air. With a smirk, Winona said, "Is it so hard to admit you were worried about him?"

"Yes," Sarek answered. "It is not the Vulcan way to admit such emotional reactions towards others, even if they are our family. It is especially difficult to admit this to those we do not know well."

"I'm human," Winona chuckled. "Who on Earth would I tell if you did?"

Sarek nodded. "You are right. For a human, you are quite wise."

"Thanks," she said with another chuckle. "Wish I agreed with you."

"To answer your question, yes, I was concerned about Spock's welfare. I felt as though he was being rash and irrational in his choices. That was before I understood what it was that he and your son truly had. Once I understood that, my apprehensions were vanquished."

"Funny how that works," Winona said.

The two stood in silence once more, letting their conversation sink in. Inhaling deeply, Winona said, "Well, regardless of what we've experienced before now, I'm glad that we're going to be family Sarek. I hope you feel the same."

He gave a nod. "I do."

Sarek looked at the horizon and noticed the creeping pinkness that was spreading through the sky. He looked back at Winona and said, "We have stayed up talking for far too long. We must return to your home and rest. If we do not, we will be sleep far after the others awake."

"Yeah, we better head back," Winona agreed.

The two walked the rest of the way back to the house in silence, but as they did, Winona occasionally stole a glance at the tall Vulcan walking beside her. It was amusing to see them deny just how much like humans they really were.

* * *

Sam and Aurelan's arrival back at Winona's farm house with Jacqueline the next evening was highly anticipated by all in attendance. Sam's knees and waist were violently assaulted by the arms of the three little boys who had desperately missed their father. They were much gentler with their mother who held their baby sister. Excited, they cried, "Can we see her?" "Lemme see, lemme see!" "Oooh, that's her isn't it? Can I hold her?"

Smiling, Aurelan bent down carefully and showed her sons their sister, whose eyes were wide open and looking around in quiet wonder. The boys oohed and aahed at their tiny sister, their faces aglow with delight. Aurelan said quietly, "This is your sister Jackie. You have to be careful with her because she's still very small and very fragile."

"What's fragile mean?" Thomas asked.

"It means she can get hurt very easily," Aurelan answered, "so you have to take extra good care of her so she can grow up to be strong."

"Like you mommy?" Chris asked.

Laughing, Aurelan nodded. "Yes honey, like me."

The boys continued to look at their sister intently while Aurelan and Sam exchanged an amused look. Behind the boys came Sarek, Prime, and T'Maire. The moment T'Maire saw Jacqueline, she gasped. "Oh my God!" she squealed. "She's adorable! Can I hold her?"

"Of course you can T'Maire," Aurelan said as she stood back up with Sam's help. Walking over, she handed Jacqueline over to T'Maire and said with a smile, "It's the least I can do to thank you for watching the boys for us."

"Aw, it was no trouble at all," T'Maire grinned. "They wouldn't leave my side, asking so many questions and telling me little stories." She looked down at Jacqueline and smiled. "Hello there Jacqueline, you precious little thing you."

Jacqueline reached out a tiny hand and grabbed at T'Maire's curled hair that tumbled down her shoulders. Making a fist, she gently tugged at T'Maire's hair as if she were comparing it to her mother's. Laughing softly, T'Maire looked at Aurelan and said, "She seems quite curious."

"She is," Aurelan said. "The entire world fascinates her already."

Prime and Sarek both looked over T'Maire's shoulder at the baby girl. Neither Sarek nor Prime voiced this, but as they looked down at T'Maire holding the baby, they pictured themselves doing the same with the child that would one day be born to Kirk, Spock, and T'Maire.

"The girl appears to be perfectly healthy," Sarek said blandly.

"Indeed she does," Prime concurred. "She also takes a great deal after her mother in looks."

"Lucky for her," Kirk said behind them. During the time they were looking at the new arrival, Kirk and Spock had come in to see them. "If she looked like her dad, she'd never stand a chance with the guys."

"Quit trying to stick my little girl with some hoodlum dweeb like you," Sam said, hands on his hip in mock anger. "She hasn't even said her first word yet and you're already trying to put her on the market!"

"Yeah, yeah, just you wait, the guys are gonna be knocking down your doors to get at her," he said, wiggling a finger at her from over T'Maire's shoulder. Recognizing her uncle, her hand released T'Maire's hair and reached out for him. He let her grab his finger and then kissed her soft, pudgy hand.

Winona came in from the kitchen wiping her hands and spoke loudly. "Alright you lot, they just got home from the hospital. They don't need all this excitement so soon! Let them sit down and kick their feet up for a bit!"

The rest of the night went as one would expect it to. There was lots of chatter and excitement for a couple of hours, but soon everyone settled down and then made their way to bed. Everyone, that is, but Sam and Winona. The two of them sat at the dinner table with cups of coffee that Winona brewed so the two of them could talk. Winona looked down into her cup while Sam looked directly at her.

"You have to tell him Mom," he said sternly. "He has a right to know what happened."

Winona closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "I can't," she said as if she were exhausted. "I don't want to ruin his special day."

"His special day is still a few days away! You're not going to ruin anything by telling him the truth! It's not like Frank is going to be there so what are you worried about?"

"I don't want to hurt him! You know how he felt about Frank!"

"All the more reason you should tell him! He's not a little boy anymore Mom! In case you didn't notice, he's a grown man, one who's technically already married!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Winona snapped. Sam was well beyond the age where his mother snapping at him would make him jump. Instead he just leered at her impatiently. "I just don't want to hurt him. It's been so long since he's been home and I don't want to ruin it by telling him!"

"You'll never know if it'll ruin my stay if you don't just tell me."

Winona and Sam turned toward the entrance of the kitchen and saw Kirk standing there with his arms crossed. He pushed off the doorway he was leaning on and walked over to the kitchen table. Pulling out an available chair, he sat down and clasped his hands in front of him. His gaze went back and forth between his brother and his mother before he asked, "Do I get a cup of coffee too?"

Winona blinked out of her surprised stupor and rose from her seat. "Yeah, of course, I'll fix you up a cup."

She skittered over to the cabinet and pulled out an extra mug. She grabbed the coffee pot and poured the steaming hot beverage into the mug. Grabbing a spoon, she returned to the table and placed the mug in front of Kirk.

Kirk took a moment to spoon some sugar into the mug and stirred it, watching the coffee swirl around in the mug and the steam rise up from it. He picked the mug up and held it in front of his face, breathing in its aroma. Carefully, he took a sip and savored the sweetened black coffee. Placing the mug back down, he took a deep breath and asked, "So what is it that I need to know?"

Winona looked at Sam and Sam looked back at her. The look in Sam's eyes silently said "Tell him," and made Winona look away. She took a long drink from her cup and sighed. Still avoiding eye contact with Kirk, she said, "The day I kicked Frank out, he…" She paused and bit her lip to keep herself from crying. "He called you and your father faggots."

Kirk's facial features didn't change, but the clenching and unclenching of his jaw revealed his anger. He tightened his grip on the mug in his hands so that his knuckles turned white. Both Winona and Sam noticed this and knew they were trudging through dangerous waters. Winona pleaded to Sam with her eyes to help her, but Sam simply shook his head in a way that said "You're on your own."

"Is that all?" Kirk asked, wanting to know the full story.

"Well," Winona said, "I punched him because of it. It wasn't the first time he'd put you down and I had more than enough of it. Well…" She fidgeted with her mug nervously, still avoiding looking at her son. "He…he hit me."

Kirk's head snapped up and ice cold eyes stared at his mother, but she refused to look back at him. He moved the mug away from him and asked, "Was that the first time he hit you?"

Still Winona wouldn't look at him. In a fit of rage, Kirk stood up so fast he knocked his chair over and made his mother look at him. Holding her tear stained face in his hand, he asked again, this time more forcefully, "_Was that the first time he hit you?!?_"

In a shaky voice Winona answered, "No."

"How long has he been hitting you?!?" Winona closed her eyes and tried to turn her head away, but Kirk held it firm. He raised his voice, "_HOW LONG?!?_"

More tears fell from Winona's face as she answered, "Since we first got married."

Kirk immediately released his mother's face and walked out of the kitchen. Sam knew exactly what Kirk was going to do and stormed out of the kitchen after him. By the time he reached his brother, Kirk already had his jacket on and was grabbing his brother's keys to his station wagon. He grabbed his brother and held him firmly.

"Let it go Jim!" he cried. "It's over and done with! You'll do no good going after him!"

Kirk struggled against his brother's grip, anxious to leave the house and pursue his mother's ex-husband. "I don't care!" he yelled. "The bastard deserves to die a million times over for treating mom like that after she gave her life up for him!"

"You'll only make things worse for yourself! Think about what will happen if Starfleet finds out! What will you tell Spock?!?"

Kirk stopped struggling the moment Sam mentioned Spock. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. When he felt his brother's grip slacken, he snatched his arms away from him. He turned his head toward the kitchen and saw his mother standing there, face wet with tears. Looking away briefly, he looked back at her and asked, "Why? Why did you put yourself through that without telling us?"

"I knew," Sam said, staring at his brother.

Kirk whirled around and stared him dead in the face. Dropping his voice, he said, "You knew? All this time she was getting beaten and you _knew?!?_ Why the _hell_ did you let it continue if you knew about it?!? Why the hell didn't you tell me?!?"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react this way!" Sam yelled. "You were troublesome enough once you hit puberty; if I told you Mom was getting beaten who _knows_ what you would have done?!?"

"Then why didn't you stop it yourself?" Kirk yelled back. "You could have easily stopped it once you got old enough!"

"Oh yeah, how the hell would _I _have been able to stop it? I couldn't even keep my ass in this house!" Sam paused and looked at Kirk. "You've always been the stronger of us Jim! I may have dad's name, but you have his spirit and strength! The whole time Frank was in our lives, you lived through it, fought him and defied him! I had to stay with our aunt and uncle two towns away because I didn't want to deal with it! Even as an adult, I avoided this house like the plague, even though I was more entitled to live here that he ever was! You really think someone like _me _could have stopped him?!?"

Kirk stood in place, breathing deeply to keep himself calm enough to speak. "You didn't even try," he said, his own voice shaky. "If you had just put in a little bit of effort and _tried, _you could have stopped it. Mom shouldn't have had to wait seventeen years to find the strength to fight him off on her own!"

"I should have been strong enough to fight him from the start!"

Both Kirk and Sam stared at their mother with wide eyes, but she covered her face and wept. Behind her hands she cried, "It's no one's fault but my own! I never should have stayed with him when he started beating me! I shouldn't have let my loneliness overshadow my judgment!"

The two brothers exchanged a look and moved to either side of the weeping woman. They hugged her and shushed her, rubbing her back and stroking her hair.

"It's not your fault mom," Sam said. "The moment I knew I should have said something to someone in town that could have helped."

"I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," Kirk said, guilt washing over him. "I'm sorry."

"No," she wailed behind her hands, "You shouldn't apologize. You have every right to be upset! I'm ashamed of myself for allowing it to happen at all! If I were stronger…"

"Hush," Sam said. "It's alright now. Frank is gone and you'll never have to deal with him again. You got full rights of the farm from the divorce and he had to pay you for the abuse you went through."

Kirk looked at Sam in surprise. "Wait, Mom got money out all this?"

Winona nodded, no longer crying but now wiping her eyes. "When his father passed away he received a rather large inheritance that he working his way through. Unfortunately for him he didn't spend it fast enough and about 50 percent of what he had left went to me."

"How much did you get?" Kirk asked.

She smiled weakly and said, "264,000 credits."

Kirk's jaw dropped. Giving a laugh, he said, "How on Earth did you manage to get that much money?!?"

"Sam helped me present my case in such a way that my defense was flawless," she answered, "though it did help that we dropped your name in court."

Eyes wide, Kirk asked, "You mean mentioning _me_ helped your case?!?"

Winona nodded proudly with a smile. "You're the hero of Riverside remember? You're the hope for all the little kids who're growing up here. It just so happens that the judge's son is one of your 'biggest fans' _and_ the judge grew up with your father."

Smirking, Sam added, "Sometimes it helps to have a famous brother and father."

Kirk laughed happily and hugged both his brother and mother tightly. "That's great!" he said. "Now you can finally do all the renovations to the house that you've wanted to do!"

"So you forgive us?" Sam asked.

Kirk looked at his brother and his mother and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so." He walked past them and went back into the kitchen, sitting back down at his chair and drinking from his still hot coffee. "On one condition," he said with a devious smirk. "You have to serve your famous blueberry cobbler to everyone at my wedding."

Winona and Sam exchanged a look. Grinning at her son, Winona said, "Anything for you honey."


	32. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The rest of the week flew by faster than anyone was really prepared for. Preparations were made, food was cooked, outfits were fitted and refitted, and decorations were put up. On the day of the wedding, everything was in place and ready to go.

"Dammit Jim stay still!"

Everything but the groom, that is.

George and McCoy were wrestling with a pacing Kirk as they desperately tried to get him ready for his wedding. His hair was half gelled, half dry, and stuck out at awkward angles. The black bow tie that should have sat perfectly under his collar was cocked to the side and loose. His cummerbund trailed behind him like a tail as he never had the chance to properly fasten it around his waist.

George rushed in front of Kirk and blocked his path while McCoy held him by his shoulders from behind to keep him from turning back around. Kirk was finally rendered motionless, and once he was, the fright in his eyes shined brightly.

Wheezing, Kirk said, "I can't do this! Getting married in front of an entire Vulcan colony was nerve wracking enough! But getting married in front of the whole of Starfleet _including _my entire family _and_ my old friends?!? I can't do this!"

When news hit Earth that Kirk and Spock were getting married, news spread faster than wildfire. Everyone in Starfleet that had known either Kirk or Spock made plans to be there; every Kirk in existence crawled from every nook and cranny to see "little Jimmy Kirk" get married (which no one _ever _expected would happen). Even more surprised were his friends from over the years who lined up in droves to see Kirk say his "I do"s. People he had only briefly met and interacted with had sent in their RSVP as well to see the event of epic proportions take place.

"Breathe Jimmy, breathe!" George said, grabbing his younger brother's arms and giving him a shake. "Last thing we need is you passing out over this! You took out Nero with not a day of real experience under your belt! You ran from rabid monsters on Delta Vega! Hell, you've already been through one marriage ceremony in front of a bunch of pointy-eared strangers, no offense to your husband! This is _nothing!_"

"Nothing?!?" Kirk laughed nervously. "This is _everything!_ Celebrities have had smaller weddings than this one! Have you looked at some of the people out there right now? There are aliens from other worlds I've never even been to out there waiting for me to say 'I do'!"

"Jim, I got a bag full of hypos with your name on them!" McCoy threatened. "If you don't calm down and I mean _right now,_ every single one of them is getting jabbed in your neck!"

Kirk cringed, but clamped his mouth shut. Regardless of the fact that he was about to walk down the aisle before an expansive audience for the second time, he knew that a hypo threat from McCoy was valid and should be taken seriously.

"Listen little bro," George said in a soothing voice as he gelled down his brother's hair, "it's going to be okay. Just pretend like no one is there, breathe deeply, and focus on Spock and Spock alone. If you do that the ceremony will end before you know it and you'll be heading to the reception."

"But…"

"…no buts," George cut him off. "You're a Kirk; act like one."

Kirk took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, you're right. I'll be fine. This will go off without a hitch and then Spock and I can go to Montana for our honeymoon. We'll have a nice long two week honeymoon in a cabin in the woods with no one else to bother us. No ambassadors, no red alerts, no crew members, nothing. Just peace and quiet. It'll be perfect."

Kirk stood still long enough for his cummerbund to be fastened and his bow tie to be tightened and centered. His hair had been smoothed down and styled elegantly for the occasion. The only thing that needed to be done was to add a yellow iris to the front pocket of his jacket. Unfortunately for George and McCoy, his apprehension swelled once more without warning and he zipped away with a loud "GAAAH! I CAN'T DO THIS!!!"

Both men rolled their eyes and looked at each other in exasperation. "Has he always been like this?" McCoy asked.

"Since he was little," George answered, shaking his head. "He loves attention, but ironically if there's too much, he freaks."

Crossing his arms, McCoy said, "Seeing him like this now, I'm amazed he was able to go through the award ceremony after the Nero incident. I bet Nyota and Christine aren't having this trouble with Spock…"

* * *

Spock stood straight as a rail as Uhura adjusted his bow tie. To his left, Chapel placed a blue Forget-me-not in his breast pocket and arranged it so that it faced outward. As a mirror to Kirk's dark tuxedo, Spock wore a pure white tuxedo that made his dark hair and eyes stand out while complimenting the creamy coloring of his skin. His breathing was smooth and slow, revealing a completely calm exterior.

Uhura knew better though. Being as good a friend to Spock as she had become, she could tell when Spock was holding back his emotions. She saw though his serene façade and saw the trembling, frightened man inside of him. Giving him her most warm, reassuring smile, she said, "Don't be nervous. You'll be fine."

"I assure you I have no idea what you are talking about," Spock said. "And fine is not an adequate description for an emotional state, it can have any of numerous meanings…"

"Hush," Uhura said, cutting the rambling Vulcan off. She smirked at him as his lips clamped shut. Chapel cut an eye at her that wordlessly told her to "be nice". Uhura countered with her own look which said "I _am_ being nice". Spock was too busy focusing on the wall across from him and didn't catch this non-verbal exchange.

After the ceremony on New Vulcan, Spock decided that shutting Kirk out from his mind would be the only way he could get through the ceremony without getting overly nervous. However, as with Kirk, the thought of so many people being in attendance (many of them of high importance) triggered his own feelings of nervousness and what humans referred to as "stage fright".

Being the "bride" in this ceremony meant that his entrance would be the mark of the ceremony's start. The more he thought about it the more illogical fears of tripping in front of everyone or having a part of his attire ridiculously out of place gnawed at him. He wanted to just hide in a corner and meditate away until he could internally match his exterior calmness, but he knew there was no time for it.

A knock came at the door that nearly scared Spock out of his skin. Uhura left Spock's side to answer the door and was greeted with the faces of Sarek and Winona Kirk. Winona was smiling brightly in her form fitting gold dress while Sarek, dressed in a brown formal Vulcan robe, allowed the tiniest of smiles to grace his aged face.

Seeing his father and Winona gave Spock an unexpected sense of relief. Somehow seeing them both soothed him, which was a much wanted feeling at that time. When Winona caught sight of Spock, who was looking like a lost child, she opened her arms wide and walked toward him. Wrapping him gently in a warm embrace she said, "You look absolutely lovely Spock."

Spock returned the hug and buried his face in Winona's shoulder. He needed his mother-in-law more than ever at that moment. She had been very open and accepting of her alien son-in-law and made him feel as though he had always been a part of her family in the small amount of time they had spent together. With the absence of his mother, both she and Uhura were the source of maternal comfort he needed most.

"Thank you Winona," Spock said, his voice betraying the depth of emotion he felt. He straightened up and looked at his father. "Please forgive me Father. I am experiencing a great deal of anxiety regarding the upcoming ceremony. I have tried some of the calming techniques but none seem to be having any affect on me."

"That is normal my son," Sarek said as he walked closer to him. Winona released Spock and stepped aside to allow them to interact. "You have already gone through one marriage ceremony, but it was familiar to you. This is a brand new experience and is on a far grander scale than any Vulcan marriage has ever been. You should permit yourself to feel as you do."

Spock nodded at his father. He fidgeted nervously with his hands, a habit he had picked up from his spouse in the last few weeks. Sarek extended his arms and placed them on his son's shoulders. This physical contact calmed Spock down enough where he stopped wringing his hands together. Smiling slightly more, Sarek said, "All will be well my son. The ceremony will be over before you know it."

Though slight, the worry on Spock's face lessened. He looked at Winona and asked, "How is Jim doing?"

"I haven't seen him just yet," Winona answered, "but knowing him, he's probably a bundle of nerves."

A crash and a howl were heard by all in the room, followed by a muffled cry of "Dammit Jim, you're like a bull in a china shop!" A worried look appeared on the faces of everyone except for Winona, who simply gave a sigh of exasperation.

"Speak of the devil," she said. "I better go check up on him."

Spock's composure crumbled noticeably as it usually did when Kirk was in trouble. "Allow me to go with you," he said with urgency in his voice.

"No, no, you stay here," Winona said. "It's bad luck for the bride to see the groom before the wedding ceremony here on Earth. I promise I'll come back and let you know whether he's okay or not."

"But…"

Winona cut Spock off. "No buts. Jim had to adhere to the ways of your culture for the Vulcan ceremony and you have to do the same for this one."

That shut Spock up, but not without making him look like a kicked puppy. Winona's voice softened, "I'm sure he's alright. When he gets overly nervous he tends to become a little accident prone. I'll go check on him and then come back as soon as I know what happened and how he is, okay?"

Spock sighed. He hated not being able to check up on Kirk when it seemed he was hurt or in trouble, but he was bound to the rules of the Earth wedding ceremony. It would seem ungracious of him to throw that aside for what may be nothing simply because of his own selfishness.

"As you wish," he said. "I will remain here until you return."

Winona gave a reassuring rub of his arm before disappearing from the room. Sarek remained by Spock's side in order to help him keep calm. Spock was tempted to reach out to Kirk and see how he was, but he felt that even that would dishonor his promise to remain distant from him before the ceremony. He hoped with all his heart that Kirk was okay, but he had a bad feeling sitting in his stomach about the howl that was distinctly Kirk's.

* * *

When Winona walked into the room her jaw dropped. A table that held a beautiful bouquet of flowers in a white vase was toppled over. The vase was broken, spilling water and flowers all over the floor. Next to the table lay her youngest son with his head in his older brother's lap and his foot being held by Doctor McCoy, who had his medical kit open. His pants leg was rolled down, and both his shoe and sock were removed. The area around his ankle was puffy and pink, meaning her accident prone son had sprained it.

Blinking in bewilderment, she managed to ask, "What happened?"

Sighing in frustration as he pulled out a hypo and a splint, McCoy said, "Your darling son decided to go bonkers and was tromping all around the room! In his infinite grace he managed to collide with this defenseless table and twist his ankle as he fell down with it. Now I gotta give him a pain killer for his ankle as well as an anti-inflammatory and support it so he can get through what will probably a twelve hour day on his feet!"

Her older son looked at her and said, "Jim got a little over excited about the number of people that are going to be present for the wedding. At least when he fell he didn't get his suit wet from the broken vase."

Winona put a hand over her face and walked over to the three men. She kneeled down next to her son and began to stroke his forehead as she usually did when he got like this. As she touched his forehead, she noticed that a thin line of sweat was forming at his hairline. He looked up at her helplessly and said, "I screwed up Mom. I haven't even gotten to the aisle yet and I've already screwed up."

"Shhh, don't worry honey," Winona said calmly. "Doctor McCoy will be able to fix you all up and everything will be fine. You won't even notice that your ankle hurts."

As she said this, McCoy jabbed the pain killing anti-inflammatory hypo directly into Kirk's ankle. Kirk's back arched in pain and his leg shot straight up. McCoy barely dodged the foot that nearly kicked him in his chin. Kirk gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and growled loudly.

"Dammit all to hell Bones, that hurt!" he yelled.

"Don't give me any lip Jim!" McCoy snarled. "It's not my fault you decided to sprain your ankle!"

Kirk was about to spit out a nasty retort but his mother pushed him back down into his brother's lap. One hand on his chest and the other on his forehead, she shushed him again. "You've got to stay calm sweetheart. I know it hurts, but in a few moments you won't feel a thing."

Sure enough, the pain in Kirk's ankle slowly faded away to nothing. When he looked down, the swelling had also decreased too, though it was still somewhat puffy and pink. McCoy secured the splint on his ankle and then replaced the missing sock and shoe.

"There," he said, "all done, you big baby." He looked at Winona and gave her a smile. "We could really use your talents in sick bay aboard the Enterprise. If we had someone like you dedicated to calming our patients down, a lot of the difficulty in treating them will be cut out."

Winona laughed. "I appreciate the compliment, but I'm not made out for the medical field, let alone Starfleet. Besides, if all I hear is correct, you have plenty of talent aboard the Enterprise that you can tap into without bringing an old woman like me up there."

"You'd be surprised," McCoy replied. "And you're not old; far from it."

Kirk glared at his best friend. "Quit flirting with my mom Bones."

McCoy returned the glare. "That's one hell of an accusation coming from the biggest flirt in Starfleet history."

"Yeah, which means I know flirting when I see it!"

"Boys, boys!" Winona said, interrupting their squabble. "This is hardly the time for you two to fight. Jim, you should be thanking Doctor McCoy; if he weren't here we'd have to figure out how to get you through the wedding with a sprained ankle. Doctor McCoy, you better than all of us should know that aggravating your patients is bad practice. Jim's under enough stress as it is and teasing him is only going to make things worse. Now you two quit bickering and finish getting ready, you hear?"

The two men looked down guiltily and said in unison, "Yes ma'am."

George shook his head and smiled at his mother. "Funny how even on Jim's wedding day you have to play the part of mediator."

Shaking her head and returning George's smile, she rose to her feet and dusted off her the front of her dress. "Well, I'm going to let Spock know that you're alright," she said. "Try not to hurt yourself any more before the ceremony sweetie."

Receiving a nod from Kirk, she turned and left the room, leaving the three alone. McCoy rose to his feet and extended a hand to help Kirk to his feet. Carefully and with the help of George, Kirk managed to stand on both feet.

"Now don't go thinking you can go running around like you're not hurt," McCoy warned. "It's only a temporary fix and though you don't feel the pain, your ankle is still busted. If you can help it, stay off your feet and prop it up whenever you can. Normally I wouldn't do this, but since this is your wedding day I'm making an allowance."

"I got ya," Kirk said with a smile. "Thanks Bones."

"You're welcome," McCoy said. "Just try not to lose your cool again or you'll make things worse."

"I know, I know," Kirk said as he ran his hand over his face. "Usually I'd have Spock helping me stay calm but since we can't be in contact before the ceremony I'm having a rough time."

"Well, well," came a familiar voice from outside the door. "I never thought I'd see the day where Jim Kirk is nervous about being the center of attention."

The three heads turned toward the door Winona had just walked through minutes before and were amazed at the sight before them. The formally paralyzed Admiral Pike stood on his own two feet in his best dress uniform. The marks of honor on his chest sparkled magnificently at the shell shocked trio.

McCoy and Kirk instinctively snapped to attention despite their amazement while George simply stared with a slack jaw. Smiling, Pike waved a hand and said, "At ease gentlemen; we're not on duty."

"A-Admiral Pike," McCoy stuttered, "h-how are you…"

Kirk stuttered as well, "Weren't you…"

"How am I walking? Weren't I paralyzed?" The two men nodded. With a laugh, Pike explained, "The medical division has been working vigorously on a way to allow those with paralysis below the waist to walk again. I've been the guinea pig for their experiments and today marks the public test run of their results. I'll be under the watchful eyes of a few key players in the research to see if or when I lose the ability to walk again. I won't bore you three with the full details of it all; all you need to know is that I will literally be walking you down the aisle Jim."

In his shock, Kirk managed to smile. Laughing, he said, "That's amazing!"

Crossing his arms proudly, McCoy said, "Modern medicine always manages to create miracles. Today we're helping the paralyzed walk, tomorrow we'll help the blind see!"

Smirking, Pike said, "One step at a time Leonard. Let's just see how long I can stay on my feet." He returned his attention to Kirk and asked, "So Jim, you ready to tie the knot by Earth standards?"

Relief washed over Kirk, calming his nerves. Dazzling Pike with a smile, Kirk said, "Yes I am."

* * *

There were so many people in attendance for Kirk and Spock's wedding that they couldn't use the same amphitheater where Kirk was both tried with cheating the Kobayashi Maru and awarded his captaincy. Instead the wedding was taking place in a special amphitheater reserved for larger events such as these. Normally a wedding of such magnitude would implicate that an admiral was to be wed, but ever the history maker, Kirk was the first Captain to have so many anxious people arriving to see him tie the knot.

The windows outside streamed in early afternoon sunlight which made the decorations shimmer like stars in the sky. In the audience people of all walks of life and creatures from distant worlds chattered anxiously in anticipation of the event. Those related to Kirk in a more personal way readied cameras to capture the momentous occasion. The Starfleet String Orchestra performed to the side of the altar to provide background music in the meantime.

Then all at once, the hall grew silent. At the far west end two parallel lines of Starfleet officers entered the amphitheater. All sets of eyes snapped to the train of men and women in uniform and watched as they marched in unison. They formed two lines, creating an aisle for the wedding procession to walk down, and faced each other.

From the same entrance came Admiral Barnett, donning his cream colored dress uniform instead of his gray Council uniform. He stood in the center of the amphitheater and stared out at the crowd before him. Being used to a mass of people of this size, he showed not an ounce of nervousness or anxiety. This wasn't his first Starfleet wedding and it wouldn't be his last, not for a long while.

Once he was in position, the orchestra began playing Canon, a song traditionally performed at weddings. On cue, the wedding procession made their way down the aisle. At the front of the line was Surok and Winona with Aurelan and T'Maire trailing behind them. Aurelan wore a stunning golden dress that made her look like a Grecian goddess, T'Maire wearing an identical one in blue. Each pairing split and moved to their designated sides of the admiral, leaving adequate space for those to come.

Admiral Pike and Captain Kirk, both positively beaming as they walked, emerged from the entrance into the well-lit amphitheater. If one didn't know any better, they'd think that Pike was the proud father of the young Jim Kirk the way he smiled. Unable to hide their surprise at seeing Pike walking on his own two feet, the audience broke out into excited whispers in various languages.

Smirking, Pike said of the side of his mouth, "Looks like I'm stirring up quite a bit of excitement."

Giving a chuckle, Kirk replied in the same manner, "You might steal the show from me at this rate."

Grinning like a pair of fools, they moved to the right side of Admiral Barnett, who gave them a smile and nod as they moved in to their positions. Pike gave a smile as he stood next to Winona, eliciting a bright blush on her face.

McCoy then walked down the aisle and stood next to Kirk, rolling his eyes at the goofy grin on his face, but still smiling in return. Sam also walked down the aisle and took his place next to McCoy who he was slightly envious over since he had been picked as Best Man.

Dressing in beautiful strapless baby blue dresses that flowed behind them, Chapel and Uhura walked down the aisle, small bouquets of forget-me-nots and lilies in their hands. They took their place to the left of Admiral Barnett and smiled at the men across from them.

When the last pairing of people disappeared from in front of him, Spock looked nervously at his father. "Father," he said, his heart thudding loudly at his side, "I feel as though a million winged insects are attempting to escape my stomach."

Crooking his arm in the way he had been showed prior to the ceremony, he said, "You need not fear. I am by your side. So is your mother."

When he heard his father say this, he felt a presence on his right. He could not see her with his eyes, but he knew that his mother stood next to him, her arm wrapped warmly around his. Outside the orchestra changed the song to the traditional wedding march played when the bride entered. Hooking his arm with his father's, he forced down the lump in his throat and gave a nod. Giving a nod back, Sarek faced outward and began walking out with his son.

Spock was thrown back by the flashes that erupted the moment he and his father stepped into the amphitheater. It seemed that all in attendance wanted to record the event for prosperity. The flashes mercifully distracted Spock from the butterflies in his stomach, which now seemed more violent in their attempt to break free. Beginning to feel his human side to get the better of him, he retreated into his Vulcan shell and blocked out the external stimuli. Though he glided with all the grace of a blushing bride, he was completely calm and composed…

…until he saw Kirk's smiling face at the end of the aisle.

Something about approaching Kirk in such a manner with so many people around them made the blood immediately rush to his face and his caged in emotions break free. The fluttering in his stomach, which had calmed to a gentle fuzziness, erupted into a buzz of activity that brought on a strong wave of nausea. Spock's face turned green, both from sickness and from being flustered. The world around him seems to sway unnaturally with each step.

Sarek sensed the turbulent feelings in his son and placed a warm hand on his arm to steady him. "Be calm Spock," Sarek said.

Spock bit the inside of his lip and gave a stiff nod. From where he stood, Kirk could see the "deer caught in the headlights" look on Spock's face. He laughed as his love approached him at the altar; and he thought he had been a wreck…

Sarek and Spock stood before Admiral Barnett by Kirk's side and the music came to a halt. Spock looked helplessly into Kirk's eyes and said through their link, _I am experiencing a great deal of anxiety that I am unable to control._

_So am I, _Kirk replied, _but that's part of the ceremony._

Love flowed from Kirk to Spock through their link and settled the jitteriness that Spock felt. Love and appreciated flowed from Spock to Kirk as they shared a smile before facing Admiral Barnett. Admiral Barnett looked at the two youths, now two years older and more mature than when he last saw them face to face. The one who surprised him most was Kirk, who had matured by leaps and bounds in the time since he became Captain. He swelled with pride as he looked at them and smiled warmly.

"Family members of the two beloved and friends of the Federation, we are all gathered here today to see Captain James Tiberius Kirk and Commander Xtmprszntwlfd S'chn T'gai Spock joined in matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men."

Kirk and Spock exchanged impressed glances as Admiral Barnett's perfect pronunciation of Spock's full name. Surely he spent a great deal of time practicing it, as it was extremely difficult for humans to pronounce.

Barnett continued on without noticing them, "And therefore – is not by any – to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly – but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and these two persons present now come to be joined before you. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together – let them speak now or forever hold their peace_._"

To both of their relief, there was complete stillness all around them. Taking the stillness as his cue to continue, Barnett asked, "Who supports this couple in their marriage?"

Slowly, one by one, each of their family and friends beside them gave their confirmation of support for the couple, each giving a warm smile as they did.

Barnett spoke, "The love that James and Spock share transcends trivial matters such as gender and species. This is a love that was inscribed in the very stars themselves. It is a pure and true love that will overcome any and all obstacles. Marriage is full of trials and tribulations that if not met with full commitment will end in failure. However it is my belief that these two men, who have faced many a great challenge in their lives, will have a long and happy marriage.

"James and Spock have decided to share their own vows during this ceremony." Barnett turned to Kirk and gave him a nod, signaling him to begin his vows.

Kirk returned the nod and swallowed hard. He was suddenly very nervous as he looked at Spock. The light shining in from the windows gave him a heavenly glow he wished he could see more often. Beautiful moments like this were hard to come by on a starship, so Kirk made sure to drink the moment in as much as he could.

He extended his shaky hands and held on to Spock's, which radiated their usual warmth. The instant their hands met, their feelings flowed back and forth through their connection. Drawing a shaky breath, Kirk began his vows, which he was completely making up on the spot.

"It's funny," he began. "When we first met, we seemed to mix like oil and water. We were thrown into an unfamiliar and scary situation together without knowing what the other was capable of. Despite our rocky start, we got to know each other and learned about each other's culture. We quickly realized that we had far more in common than we originally thought and we fell in love.

Kirk paused, dropping his head down as his throat became tight. He swallowed hard and continued, "Spock, you've made me realize just how empty my life was before I met you. I always felt like there was something I was destined for and someone I was destined to achieve it with, and it brings me joy beyond measure to know that person is you. I wouldn't be the man that I am today if you weren't by my side. You are the first person I have ever truly loved, and I give all of myself to you, heart, body, and soul."

A smile flashed quickly on Spock's face at Kirk's heartfelt words. Even in such a setting where a display of one's true emotions was allowed, even for a Vulcan, he felt a need to maintain himself in front of so many people. He was after all still an ambassador's son, regardless of whether he was getting married or not.

He drew in a large breath before he began his own vows. "Jim, you are the first person with whom I felt I could completely be myself. When I am with you, I do not feel as though I must put on a false façade, for you accept me the way I am. In all my life, that is the only thing I have desired for myself. Though I have found that one thing in someone I had never expected to find it with, I could not have asked for a more loving mate.

"I love you Jim Kirk. I always have and always shall, even after death takes me from this universe. I say this before all in attendance as a testament to feelings I hold in my heart." Spock reached out for Kirk's hand and placed it on his side where his heart was. "Do you feel my heart beating? Each time my heart beats, it beats solely for you."

Kirk breathed a laugh as he felt Spock heart beating against his palm and looked into Spock's eyes. The sun that shined through the windows illuminated his eyes, making the chocolate brown of his pupils dance with sparkles of light. As Spock gazed into his love's shimmering blue eyes, electrified by the sunlight, he saw them well up with tears of happiness.

Admiral Barnett observed this display of love and couldn't help but feel moved himself. Likewise, the entire audience was moved to the point of tears for many. Winona, Chapel, and Uhura dabbed their eyes with their handkerchiefs. To Winona's pleasant surprise, Pike placed a strong arm around her and held her as she wept quietly. Even Bones, who was thought of by many as a cranky old man, found himself sniffling and furiously swiping a rogue tear away from his eye, though if anyone brought it up later he'd firmly deny it.

He turned his head to either side of him and said, "Will the best man and maid of honor please present the rings?"

McCoy pulled Spock's ring out of his breast pocket while Uhura pulled Kirk's ring out from a small draw purse she held in her hand. The two rings were beautifully crafted; Kirk's was gold with a single sapphire embedded into it, Spock's was silver with a yellow diamond. Both Kirk and Spock took the rings in their hands respectively and faced each other.

"Kirk," Barnett said, "place your ring on Spock's finger."

Obediently, Kirk took Spock's hand and slipped the ring on his left ring finger. Holding the hand gently with both of his, he said, "With this ring, I thee wed. I pledge my life to you, for better or for worse, through sickness and in health, until death do us part."

Kirk released Spock's hands and watched as his left hand was raised with Spock's trembling hands. The ring slipped on, a little looser than he'd like at first, but then settled underneath his knuckle perfectly. In a voice that matched his hands, Spock said, "With this ring, I thee wed. From this day forth my life and love is yours alone, for better or for worse, through sickness and in health, until death do we part."

They shared a smile before turning back toward Admiral Barnett. Barnett spoke loudly so all could hear, "By the power vested in me by the Federation, on behalf of Starfleet and the planet Earth, I now pronounce you two married. You may now seal your joining with a kiss."

Kirk grinned. This was the part of the ceremony he had been waiting for. He stepped forward, cupped Spock's face in his hands, and kissed him tenderly, yet tastefully considering his audience. Spock placed his hands softly on Kirk's hips and returned the kiss, enjoying the buzz of love and excitement he felt in his head. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but an enjoyable one.

When the two parted, Barnett placed his hands on the two men's shoulders and said in the same loud voice, "I present to you the newly married couple James and Spock."

The amphitheater erupted in joyous applause and cheers, some in other languages. Cameras flashed and smiles were abound. The ending wedding march played almost inaudibly compared to the noise of those in the audience. Kirk and Spock rather sheepishly waved their thank yous and lead the wedding procession out of the hall down the aisle.

Once out of the amphitheater, Kirk said, "Jesus that was insane! My heart's pounding!"

"As is mine," Spock said, "but at least now we are officially married by both Vulcan and Earth standards."

"That we are," Kirk smiled. "Come on Spock; let's go get some food!"

* * *

Everything after the ceremony had gone beautifully. Warm words were said about the new couple, everyone said their congratulations, Kirk saw friends and family he hadn't seen in years, and everyone was having a good time. Winona had her first dance with her new son-in-law and Kirk and Spock had their first dance as newlyweds.

After the last of the formalities was done and dinner had been eaten, everyone was allowed to dance to the music and schmooze freely with one another. Kirk beamed as he danced with his mother on the dance floor. She flashed the trademark Kirk smile at her darling son as they slowly swayed to the music.

"I'm so happy for you Jimmy," she said, pride and emotion thick in her voice. "I thought my heart would stop beating as I watched Admiral Pike walk you down the aisle."

"Speaking of which," Kirk began, "Admiral Pike just so happens to be available."

Winona's eyes grew large. "Jim!"

"What?" Kirk said innocently. "I saw how you looked at him while he walked me down the aisle! Shoot, I'm surprised you even noticed me at all!"

"James Tiberius Kirk you stop right this instant!" she said, clearly flustered as the color flew to her cheeks.

Kirk laughed lightheartedly at his mother. "Mom, it's alright, I'm a big boy now! You can tell me if you think my superior is attractive!"

"I'll do no such thing!" she fussed under her breath. "And would you _please_ lower your voice!"

Smirking, Kirk simply shook his head. As the song ended, he spotted Pike sitting at a table with some dignitaries not too far away from where they stood. Pulling away from his mother he called out, "Admiral Pike! Could you borrow a moment of your time?"

Winona swatted at Kirk and gave him her best "intimidating angry mother" look. Lowering the glass of champagne in his hand and excusing himself, Pike approached the two on the dance floor. Kirk simply smiled as Winona became increasingly fidgety the closer Pike came.

"What can I do for the man of the hour?" Pike asked.

"I was just dancing with my lovely mother and I thought to myself, 'I wonder if Admiral Pike would like to dance with her?' So I called you over to ask if you'd like the honor of dancing with the wonderful woman who gave birth to me." He smiled innocently and tried to ignore the daggers his mother was shooting at the side of his head.

Pike now more than ever thanked his teachers for enforcing the importance of diplomacy while he was in the Academy. Seeing how he was in a situation where the utmost delicacy was needed, he had to think of a good answer and fast to avoid a conflict. On the one hand, he could humor Kirk and dance with his mother, who he had to admit was quite stunning. Looking at her and having known his father, it was plain to see how Kirk could have gotten away with being the playboy he once was. On the other hand, the look in Winona Kirk's eyes was that of a woman who was willing to murder her son in front of many witnesses. While he would sorely regret not dancing with her, he also wanted to ensure Kirk lived long enough to enjoy his honeymoon.

Giving Kirk his best smile, he took the neutral route. "I would love nothing better than to dance with your mother Jim, who might I say is the epitome of beauty. With that in mind, it wouldn't be very gentleman like of me to assume she feels the same."

Pike turned to Winona, who was steadily turning redder and redder, and bowed gracefully, a movement he hadn't had the opportunity to make for quite some time. "Mrs. Kirk, may I have the honor of dancing with you?"

Winona had so much blood pumping to her head it was a wonder her head didn't explode from the pressure. Shooting a glance at Kirk that screamed "You're lucky he's so charming or else you'd be dead," and taking a deep breath, she finally managed to say, "You may."

Pike's face turned upward toward Winona and aimed a smile that rivaled Kirk's directly at her. She swallowed hard as she realized that he was even more attractive up close than he was from afar. Rising from his bow, Pike extended a hand toward Winona. Slowly she lifted her arm and delicately placed her hand in his. With the utmost care, he raised her hand to his lips and placed a feather light kiss on her knuckles.

Face still red, Winona found herself with an unexpectedly dreamy look on her face from the kiss that had been planted on her hand. It had been so long since a man had wooed her she had almost forgotten how intoxicating it could be. He moved his hand so that their hands were cupped together and placed his other hand softly on her waist. As though in a trance, Winona placed her left hand on Pike's shoulder and began to sway with him to the music. She was so fixated on the man she danced with that she didn't catch the Cheshire cat-like grin on Kirk's face and didn't notice him walking away from them.

Kirk walked over to Spock still grinning and said, "They should change my name to 'Cupid'."

Raising an eyebrow at his husband, Spock asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Oh, I just played Matchmaker with my mother and Admiral Pike, that's all."

The eyebrow rose further on Spock's forehead. "Is that so? You do realize that if your ploy does not work that it could reflect poorly on you?"

"Yeah," Kirk said, crossing his arms and watching his mother dancing from afar. "It's worth the risk though."

The longer Winona looked into the gray streaked blue eyes of Admiral Pike the more she felt as though she were floating in mid-air. True, the eyes of her long departed husband were bluer by far, but something in his eyes made something stir inside her that had been dormant for years. Everything about him, his charm, his grace, his voice, all of it made her heart flutter like a butterfly floating in the wind.

As Pike gazed at the lovely Winona, he realized what it was that drew Kirk's father to her in the first place. She was gorgeous even at her age, with a timeless beauty most women would kill for. Even in her nervousness she was radiant. Were it not for the fact that he knew his legs couldn't support him for much longer, he wouldn't stop dancing with her if only so he could live in that one moment for all eternity.

Realizing that he should engage in some sort of small talk to lessen the intensity in the air, he said, "I'm sorry if it seems I put you on the spot earlier."

Blinking out of her trance, Winona laughed lightly and said, "Oh no, you did no such thing. I'm glad you were kind enough to take my feelings into account, unlike my son."

Smirking, Pike said, "Well, if it's one thing I've observed about your son it's that he acts before he thinks far too often."

"Unfortunately so," Winona agreed. "Though I am glad I agreed to dance with you. It's not every day I'm able to dance with an Admiral."

"Very true," Pike said. "It's also not every day I get to dance with a woman as beautiful as you."

Winona bowed her head in adorable embarrassment and gave Pike the famous Kirk smile. Pike was surprised to find his heart skipping a beat upon having her direct such a smile at him. Though he remembered seeing her late husband smile at him the same way and had just witnessed her son smiling at him before dancing with Winona, seeing it on her face did something magical to him inside.

Unfortunately it also did something to the chemistry in his brain that was counteracting with the very thing that was allowing him to dance with her. The change he felt reflected on her face, immediately causing Winona to look at him with concern. "Admiral? Are you alright?"

"I'm afraid not," he said sadly, the strain of remaining on his feet beginning to wear on him. "I'm sad to say I will have to cut this dance short."

He moved his hand from Winona's waist and tapped what appeared to be red badge. In reality, it was the emergency alert button to let the medical staff know that he had run out of time. On cue, the head of the medical team walked over to him and slipped a hand around his waist. Reluctantly Pike put his right arm around the man's shoulders and allowed the man to escort him back to the tables.

Interestingly enough, the left hand that had cupped Winona's was still in her grasp. Like a devoted wife, Winona held on tightly to his hand and followed him to the table. The medical officer lowered Pike into a chair and tapped a similar badge on his chest. "Bring the wheelchair," he said while making eye contact across the room.

As another medical officer made their way around the crowd with the wheelchair, he asked Pike, "Can you tell me what you felt before you signaled us?"

Looking in Winona's eyes and giving a smile, he answered, "I guess you could say I felt weak in the knees."

Winona blushed both at Pike and at the head medical officer. Stifling a grin, the officer nodded and said, "I think I understand what happened. Sorry to say this but it looks like you'll be wheelchair bound for the rest of the night. The treatment isn't safe enough to give you another dose so soon."

"That's fine," Pike said, still making eye contact with Winona. "I was able to stand long enough to enjoy myself."

The woman with the wheelchair arrived and assisted the head officer with moving Pike into it. They made the necessary adjustments and then stood up straight. Giving Pike a salute, the head officer said, "We'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your evening Admiral. Please let us know if you need anything else."

"I will," Pike said in a soft tone. "Dismissed."

Obediently the two officers walked away and let Winona and Pike be. Winona moved to the chair Pike had just sat in and said, "I'll stay with you for the rest of the evening."

Pike shook his head. "You don't have to do that. This is your son's wedding; you should be enjoying yourself, not staying by a cripple's side."

"It's my fault you're not able to stand on your feet," she said sadly. "The least I can do is keep you company."

Her hand lay warmly atop of his on the arm of his wheelchair. He took his free hand and rested it atop of hers. "I wouldn't feel right making you feel obligated to be with me just because I'm wheelchair bound again."

She thought for a moment and then asked, "What if I said I would prefer staying by your side?"

Pike's eyebrows rose on his forehead, then he smiled. "The choice is yours Mrs. Kirk."

"Please," she said. "Call me Winny. It's short for Winona."

His smile broadened. "Winny. I won't force you to stay with me, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't enjoy spending more time with you."

She returned his smile with one of her own. "I'm glad to hear that Admiral."

"Chris," he corrected. "It's short for Christopher obviously. It's only fair that you call me by my nickname if I'm calling you by yours."

Smiling again, she said, "Chris. I like that name."

"Thank you," Pike said as a dreamy look not unlike the one Winona gave him earlier appearing on his face.

Back on the dance floor, Spock's bridesmaids were dancing with their respective significant other. Uhura stared lovingly into Scotty's eyes and smiled at him. Scotty stared back with his magical hazel brown eyes which seemed like a kaleidoscope of color. At any given moment they could look dark green, at another look dark brown, and at yet another moment look dark blue. With the current lighting of the room, they shimmered with all three colors, as well as what looked like flecks of gold.

Scotty spoke, "Nyota, have ye…do ye ever think about gettin' married?"

Uhura tilted her head in amusement at Scotty's question. "Getting married? Monty, are you dropping a hint?"

Scotty blushed. "A-ah was just wonderin', you know, fer future reference. We've been gettin' along swell an' all, but ah just wanted ta see where we stand is all."

Uhura laughed and gave Scotty a kiss. "It's an idea that certainly worth entertaining," she answered rather vaguely.

"C'mon," Scotty said, "ah'm bein' serious. Ah love ye Nyota. Ah want ta have wee ones with ye an' buy a home back on Earth. What d'ya say? Are ye interested?"

She took a deep breath and took some time to think before she answered. Still avoiding answering the question somewhat, she simply stated, "Hard for me to give you an honest answer when there's not a ring to go with your question. How did that song from the 21st century go? Oh yeah, 'if you like it then be sure to put a ring on it'. Ask me the question again with a ring in hand and I might be able to give you a better answer."

Uhura smirked at Scotty, who returned the smirk with one of his own. The light twinkling in his eyes, he said, "Ah think ah get wha' yer sayin'."

"Good," Uhura replied. "Now spin me."

Obediently Scotty lifted Uhura's hand over her head and spun her around twice before wrapping his arm back around her and dipping her. She gave a laugh and kissed him sweetly on his lips.

Not far from where Scotty and Uhura danced, Chapel and McCoy were having a similar conversation as they danced. Chapel batted her pretty blue eyes at McCoy, who simply smirked in response. In her musical voice, she asked, "Lenny, would you ever want to get re-married someday?"

McCoy raised an eyebrow at her as the smirk disappeared from his face. Instead of answering, he asked his own question. "What is it about weddings that get women to thinking about marriage themselves?"

Chapel pouted. "How can we not? It's kind of hard not to when you see a friend of yours saying their vows at the altar. You mean to tell me that seeing your best friend getting married doesn't get you to thinking at all about it?"

"Well I didn't say I wasn't thinking about it, I was just wondering…"

"…so were you thinking about it?"

McCoy's eyes shifted away from Chapel's penetrating gaze and he cleared his throat. "I…well…maybe…"

The smile returned to Chapel's lips. "And?"

"'And' what?" McCoy scowled.

Chapel sighed and pushed McCoy away. "Really Leonard, are you that dense?"

She turned around and was about to storm off when Leonard grabbed her wrist. When she faced him again, her eyes glittered with angry tears and her beautiful face was contorted into a frown. He pulled her back into his reach and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Now hold on just a minute, don't stalk off just because I'm not talking about booking our own wedding after watching Jim tie the knot," he said, frustration clear in his voice. "I love you and you know it, but dammit I'm not ready to run off and get married again so soon!"

"Let me go," Chapel said, the tears in her eyes getting heavier by the second.

"No," McCoy said. She looked up at him, half irritated that he wouldn't let her leave and half relieved that he didn't. "I never said I wasn't interested in marrying you Christine; I just want this to last a bit longer the way it is. There's still a lot we need to learn about each other and we haven't been together long enough for me to comfortably jump into another marriage.

"I…I care about you too much to rush things. When I get on my knee and ask you to be my wife, I don't want a single doubt to be left in my mind that you're what makes the world turn for me."

Chapel shifted her eyes away from McCoy. "Are you saying you have doubts about us?"

"No, I'm not," he answered, "but I want to be absolutely sure I'm ready to say my vows all over again before I make the venture down that road."

He put a finger on Chapel's chin and easily turned her head back toward him. "After what I went through with my last marriage, can you respect that and be patient?"

With a huff, Chapel reluctantly smiled and said, "I suppose."

Smiling, McCoy leaned in and kissed Chapel softly. Though the contact wasn't forceful, it was strong enough for Chapel to sense what he felt inside. Pulling back, he said, "Thank you. You have my word that when, and yes, I do mean 'when' I propose, you'll have me as long as you're willing to deal with me."

Returning the smile, Chapel said, "After all the hoops I'll have gone through by the time you propose, I'm more than certain I'll be 'willing' to deal with you until death do we part."

They laughed and placed their foreheads together, resuming their dance.

The sun outside slowly sank in the sky, basking the many guests in a fiery gold light. The shadows beneath all in attendance gradually stretched and stretched until they disappeared altogether with the light outside. When the moon appeared in the night sky outside, Winona decided that it was time to send the bride and groom on their way so everyone could retire for the night.

She walked up to the table where she and her family had eaten dinner and picked up the portable microphone they had used to make their speeches. She motioned to the DJ and the music that was playing was instantly stopped. The sudden silence made everyone freeze in place.

"Everyone, can I have your attention please?"

Winona received the attention she requested rather quickly. "The sun outside has set and that means it's time for the celebration to end so the boys can start their honeymoon. Jim, Spock, come on up here."

Everyone applauded the newlyweds as they walked up to where Winona stood. "Now boys, I know you've received quite a large number of gifts from your guests, but there's one more gift that we've saved until the very end."

Kirk and Spock exchanged a look before Kirk aimed a skeptical look at his mother. "What do you have up your sleeve Mom?"

Winona grinned. "Everyone, if you'll follow me outside please."

Winona began leading the wedding party to the reception room's exit, but noticed that Kirk and Spock were still rooted in place. She turned back around and motioned toward her. "Come on you two! The gift isn't going to come to you; you have to go to it!"

Again Kirk and Spock exchanged a look. Shrugging, Kirk made his way to the exit, Spock right behind him. Once outside the academy, they all gathered on the front steps and stood. Everyone looked around, curious as to what it was that was supposed to be Kirk and Spock's final gift.

In the distance, a dim roar was heard. The roar came closer and closer to where everyone had gathered, yet nothing could be seen. Then to the left of them, around the corner of the building came a bright red vehicle rolled toward them on the pavement. Kirk's jaw dropped. The moment he saw it he knew exactly what the vehicle was.

It was the very same 1965 Corvette Stingray that he had driven off a cliff as a boy.

Sitting in the driver's seat with a smirk on his face was his brother Sam. He pulled the car up to the front of the steps and stopped. The engine continued to purr as he leaned back and relished the look on his little brother's face.

"Look familiar Jim?"

"How…" Kirk stuttered. "How the hell did you…?"

"In case you're wondering, no, it's not the same car," Sam answered. "Not by a long shot. Dad's old Corvette is still sitting at the bottom of that cliff. However, we managed to search high and low for another one just like it. I won't lie to you, it was hell. These things are like a needle in a haystack to find. You're lucky that when Mom sets out for a task, she doesn't stop until it's done."

Kirk's head snapped over to his mother, who laughed at the fish-like look on his face. "I happened to find someone clear on the other side of the world that had the exact same car sitting in his collection. Not the same color of course, but changing that was easy. Getting him to part with it? Not so easy."

"So then how…" Kirk's eyes somehow managed to get bigger. "The money from the divorce…Mom, you didn't…"

"No," she answered, "I didn't. I still have a considerable amount left, more than enough to spend as I please. It was the least I could do for my baby boy."

Kirk laughed and looked at the car in disbelief. "You're amazing…"

"Hey," Sam called from the driver's seat. "If anyone's amazing, it's _me. _I'm the one who gave Mom the idea in the first place and helped her get it here in time for the wedding."

Kirk closed his eyes to hold in the tears that sprung up. Spock placed an arm around him, which caused him to give a laugh as the tears fell. He opened his eyes and walked over to his mother, who had her arms open to pull her son into an embrace. Kirk cried quietly on her shoulder and managed to blubber, "Thank you…"

"Anything for you Jimmy," Winona soothed as she rubbed his back.

Kirk released his mother and stepped aside so Spock could hug her as well. For obvious reasons he was not as moved as his husband, but he marveled at the feat she had pulled off. "It is no wonder your son is a miracle maker," he said. "His mother is a miracle maker as well."

Winona laughed and kissed her new son-in-law on the cheek. When Spock released her and turned to Kirk, he saw him hugging his brother tightly. He let himself cry openly and deeply the moment his brother exited the car and wrapped his arms around him. Spock could not hear what they were saying, but could tell that they were exchanging words of love and admiration.

When they parted, Sam's cheeks were moist as well. Sniffing and rubbing their faces like little boys, they gave each other a nod as Sam returned to his mother's side. Kirk and Spock both entered the car and closed the doors behind them. To test the engine out, Kirk pushed down on the gas pedal. On cue, the car gave a mighty roar as the odometer shot up. Kirk grinned wildly and rubbed the steering wheel lovingly.

Sam called from the steps, "Hey, don't use up all your rubdown powers on the steering wheel Jim! Spock will be mighty disappointed if you do!"

Everyone laughed except for Spock, who simply blushed. Kirk put his arm around the back of Spock's seat and yelled over the engine, "Our wedding gifts better still be here when we get back!"

Sam laughed and said, "Don't worry; Starfleet will have them locked up tight, I promise! Now go on and enjoy your honeymoon!"

Kirk moved his arm back to the steering wheel and put the car into drive. Removing his foot from the brake and placing it on the gas pedal, the car slowly rolled forward. Giving a final wave to his guests and family, he slammed his foot down and the car zoomed off into the distance. Everyone remained on the steps waving goodbye until they were but a speck on the horizon. They had more than earned a couple weeks of peace and quiet to themselves, and hopefully they wouldn't kill each other on their first road trip.

* * *

End of Eternity. The trilogy continues in Family, and there's a side story called Envy as well. Looking forward to your reviews!


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